Csenge Advisory Group Trims Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Csenge Advisory Group lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,120 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 25,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the first quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 24,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,107,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.7% during the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $92.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 762,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,207,505. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $87.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $69.00 and a 52 week high of $92.22. The company has a market capitalization of $52.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 firm earned $1.55 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 22.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 value of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.