Strategic Investment Advisors MI Lowers Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Strategic Investment Advisors MI lowered its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 927 shares during the quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $104.18 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $88.00 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,728 shares in the company, valued at $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,295 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.93.

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.