Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Buffington Mohr McNeal

Buffington Mohr McNeal decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Aflac were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $288,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 18,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 7,926 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 111.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 78.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 25,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,991,000 after buying an additional 11,428 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in Aflac by 1,899.4% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 64,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,944,000 after buying an additional 61,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $89.41. 1,898,602 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,244,083. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $69.00 and a twelve month high of $91.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $87.14 and a 200 day moving average of $83.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.69.

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.