Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Sells 4,912 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. cut its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,912 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 0.7% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 7,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 4,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 6,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Aflac from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price target (up from $99.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.00.

Aflac News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating while lowering its price target from $137 to $133. The target still indicates substantial potential upside and provides a supportive signal for the stock. Bank of America Aflac price target
• Positive Sentiment: Aflac’s latest WorkForces Report found that employees remain financially vulnerable and increasingly need help understanding workplace benefits. The findings may support demand for Aflac’s supplemental health and life insurance products over the longer term. Aflac WorkForces Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed. KBW reaffirmed a Hold rating, while the broader analyst consensus is also Hold, suggesting investors view Aflac as relatively fairly valued near current levels. KBW Aflac rating
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo reduced its price target from $122 to $116 and maintained an Equal Weight rating. The target near recent trading levels points to limited near-term upside and may cap investor enthusiasm. Wells Fargo Aflac price target
• Negative Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, Aflac’s major shareholder, disclosed several small stock sales, including 12,200 shares on October 12 and 12,000 shares on October 9. The transactions were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced its ownership by only about 0.02% each, so the direct financial impact is limited, but the repeated selling creates a modest overhang. Aflac SEC filing

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.85, for a total transaction of $1,413,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,344,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,461,299. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 503,051 shares of company stock worth $58,491,257. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE AFL traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $117.36. The company had a trading volume of 476,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,331. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $116.77 and its 200 day moving average is $117.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $105.43 and a fifty-two week high of $130.22. The company has a market capitalization of $58.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.56.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued 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 was Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company’s products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.