Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Ariel Investments LLC

Ariel Investments LLC reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 304,585 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 56,817 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC owned about 0.05% of Aflac worth $31,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 21,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,230,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.00.

Aflac Trading Up 0.2 %

Aflac stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $105.73. 2,002,841 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,105,564. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $107.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.76. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $83.27 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.25%.

Aflac Company 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.