Abbot Financial Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Abbot Financial Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Abbot Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 121.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.15.

Aflac Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $103.40 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $103.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.19. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $94.03 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $55.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.25%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total transaction of $106,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,786,791.84. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.