Blue Trust Inc. Trims Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,164 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its position in Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 25,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the first quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 24,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,107,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.0 %

AFL traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $89.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,687,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,080,387. The company has a market capitalization of $50.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $69.00 and a twelve month high of $91.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.06.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.69.

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.