Joseph Moskowitz Sells 1,000 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Director Joseph Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total transaction of $114,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 23,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,692,110. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of AFL opened at $114.96 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $109.57 and its 200 day moving average is $105.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.45. The company has a market capitalization of $60.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $551,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 140,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,652,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,273,000 after buying an additional 124,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S&CO Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 84,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,887,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $104.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.50.

About Aflac

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.