State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $9.97 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,445 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Aflac were worth $9,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Eagle Ridge Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $206,000. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. now owns 25,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $89.10 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.94. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $69.00 and a 1-year high of $91.15.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 EPS for the current 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 represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were 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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.69.

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.