Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,960 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Aflac were worth $2,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,395,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in Aflac by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 18,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 36,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,990,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Navalign LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.66, for a total transaction of $3,718,056.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,393,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,046,905,674.70. The trade was a 0.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.55, for a total transaction of $268,065.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,186 shares in the company, valued at $720,978.30. The trade was a 27.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 814,028 shares of company stock worth $91,815,931. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $117.78 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $112.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

About Aflac

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.