AQR Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 227,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 241,737 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $20,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 21,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.6% in the second quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.0% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE AFL opened at $111.80 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $104.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.18. The company has a market capitalization of $63.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $74.89 and a 52 week high of $112.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.36.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.