Park Avenue Securities LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 23.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,032 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $551,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $2,626,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,450. This trade represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $25,837,056. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.67.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $109.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $57.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.63. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.29%.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.