Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Wallington Asset Management LLC

Wallington Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 252 shares during the period. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the first quarter worth about $50,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the second quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 178.6% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $112.14 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.48.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.