Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors cut its Aflac stake by 7.8% in the first quarter, selling 9,683 shares and leaving it with 114,761 shares worth about $12.59 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Aflac is mixed: analysts have an average Hold rating with a consensus price target of $114.50, though several firms recently raised targets.
• Aflac reported Q1 EPS of $1.75, slightly below estimates, while revenue came in above expectations at $4.24 billion; the stock recently traded near its 52-week high and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share.

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,683 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up about 5.2% of Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $12,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho set a $112.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.50.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $124.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $63.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $125.93. The business's fifty day moving average price is $117.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.71.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac 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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