Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 5,788 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,788 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Aflac were worth $10,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,014,000. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Aflac by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 108,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $155,529,000 after purchasing an additional 127,911 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.21.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total value of $106,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,786,791.84. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,877 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $106.96. 3,427,209 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,113,342. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $86.46 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $107.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.47. The firm has a market cap of $57.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.