Boston Partners Sells 1,848,868 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Boston Partners reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 74.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 620,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,848,868 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Aflac were worth $53,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $197,820,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 8,861.1% in 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 buying an additional 444,829 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,588,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 196.5% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 484,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,945,000 after buying an additional 320,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Aflac by 161.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 311,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,723,000 after buying an additional 191,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac 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 sale, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, 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 is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 2.4 %

AFL traded down $2.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $99.24. The company had a trading volume of 3,471,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,218,089. The company has a market cap of $56.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $104.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $90.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.72.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm’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 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Aflac 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.