Argent Trust Co Lowers Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Argent Trust Co lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 304 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Aflac were worth $846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake 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 worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.6% during the second 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 last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 2.0% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 3,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $107.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $102.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.68. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $74.89 and a one year high of $111.14. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 22.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.50.

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.