Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Director Thomas Kenny Sells 1,740 Shares

Key Points

• Director Thomas Kenny sold 1,740 Aflac shares on May 15 at an average price of $116.57, totaling about $202,832. After the sale, he still owned 13,219 shares.
• Aflac’s stock rose 1.5% to $118.58, near its 52-week high of $119.32, as the company traded above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $1.75 missing estimates by $0.05 but revenue of $4.24 billion topping expectations. Aflac also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, payable June 1.

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) Director Thomas Kenny sold 1,740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.57, for a total value of $202,831.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,219 shares in the company, valued at $1,540,938.83. This trade represents a 11.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Aflac Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $1.77 during trading on Monday, hitting $118.58. 1,956,647 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,307,726. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $111.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.28. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.Aflac's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $438,621,000 after purchasing an additional 13,666 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $420,078,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 161.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $349,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,738 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Company 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.

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