Aflac (NYSE:AFL) EVP Sells $648,897.48 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.81, for a total transaction of $648,897.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,775,663.97. The trade was a 11.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock traded down $2.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $114.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,474,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,307,507. The firm has a market cap of $58.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $112.81 and its 200 day moving average is $111.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth about $280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 11.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.6% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.