Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Guinness Asset Management LTD decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,211,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,948 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for approximately 4.0% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Aflac were worth $189,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $197,820,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Aflac by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,643,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $740,141,000 after acquiring an additional 794,784 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,208,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,160,465,000 after purchasing an additional 605,210 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 8,861.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 449,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,113,000 after purchasing an additional 444,829 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Aflac by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,295,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $559,953,000 after purchasing an additional 368,704 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.67. The stock had a trading volume of 5,577,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,890,366. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $66.91 and a 52 week high of $90.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $86.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.57. The company has a market capitalization of $50.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AFL. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on 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 objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.38.

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.