Aflac Incorporated $AFL Stock Sold by EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC

EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 37.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,888 shares during the period. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,630,000. Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,802,000. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,546,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 137.4% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 23,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 12.5% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 341,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,033,000 after purchasing an additional 37,886 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $127.44 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $105.76 and a 12-month high of $131.18. The stock has a market cap of $63.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $118.47 and its 200-day moving average is $116.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.63. Aflac had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 17th. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 35.57%.

Key Aflac News

Investors following AFL have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac raised its quarterly dividend 4.9%, from $0.61 to $0.64 per share. The new annualized payout is $2.56 per share, or about a 2.0% yield. Aflac dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $124 and JPMorgan to $121 from $119. The higher targets are modestly constructive, though they remain below the recent share price; Wells Fargo maintained an “equal weight” rating. Wells Fargo target update JPMorgan target update
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho raised its target to $117 from $112 but retained an “underperform” rating, signaling limited upside in its view. Mizuho forecast update

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price target (up from $99.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.89, for a total value of $1,649,570.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,121,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,359,895,436.81. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.99, for a total transaction of $74,994.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,014,553.81. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 699,562 shares of company stock valued at $81,687,749. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance to individuals and businesses. Its products are designed to help customers manage expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, cancer, critical illness and hospital stays. The company operates primarily in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac offers workplace benefits such as accident, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. In Japan, it provides products including cancer, medical and life insurance.