Cedar Wealth Management LLC Trims Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Cedar Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 34.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $34,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in Aflac by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.0% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $107.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $74.89 and a 52 week high of $111.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.68. The company has a market capitalization of $61.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

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.