Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Get Rating) by 1.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 198,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,876 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Aflac were worth $12,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Aflac by 120.2% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in Aflac by 96.8% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.45% of the company’s stock.
Several equities research analysts have commented on AFL shares. Citigroup started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Aflac from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.30.
In other Aflac news, Director Karole Lloyd acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $59.36 per share, with a total value of $59,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,290,583.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Shares of AFL stock opened at $56.24 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $51.28 and a 1-year high of $67.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $36.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.57.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.04. Aflac had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 18.90%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 18th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.
Aflac Profile (Get Rating)
Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. It operates through two segments, Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care income support, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.
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