Cushing Capital Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Cushing Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for 1.1% of Cushing Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Cushing Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total value of $106,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,791.84. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.93.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $102.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $105.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $87.68 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Aflac Company Profile

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.