Cullinan Associates Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Cullinan Associates Inc. lowered its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,098 shares during the period. Aflac makes up about 1.0% of Cullinan Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $13,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,310,640,000 after buying an additional 653,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,465,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,286,042,000 after buying an additional 288,482 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Aflac by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $754,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,753 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Aflac by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,250,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $543,154,000 after purchasing an additional 556,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,699,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $103.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $88.00 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.26. The stock has a market cap of $55.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.82.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 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 business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.93.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,786,791.84. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.