Connors Investor Services Inc. Decreases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Connors Investor Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 92.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,467 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $163,409,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $754,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,753 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,310,640,000 after purchasing an additional 653,275 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $1.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.51. 1,886,186 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,109,306. The firm has a market cap of $57.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $107.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $81.96 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. 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 objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.00.

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.