Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock Holdings Lowered by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 152,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,771 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $17,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 178.6% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $110.04. 105,002 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,209,155. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $110.41 and its 200 day moving average is $97.16. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $62.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.