Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Sells 6,704 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. cut its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,704 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for about 1.8% of Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Aflac by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,854,000 after acquiring an additional 15,105 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

Aflac Stock Up 0.2%

Aflac stock opened at $118.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $120.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $115.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.45. The firm has a market cap of $60.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 1,082,471 shares of company stock valued at $124,943,184 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Profile

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.