Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Aflac were worth $13,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Eudaimonia Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 234.6% in the fourth quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 10,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 7,325 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $1,558,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 86,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,096,000 after buying an additional 15,855 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. now owns 139,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,481,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,546,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $89.41 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $69.00 and a 52 week high of $91.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $87.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.