Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Key Points

• Smithbridge Asset Management cut its Aflac stake by 50% in the first quarter, selling 10,150 shares and leaving it with 10,150 shares worth about $1.11 million.
• Aflac reported quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, missing analyst expectations, though revenue came in above estimates at $4.24 billion and rose 27.9% year over year.
• The company continued rewarding shareholders with a $0.61 quarterly dividend and a 2.1% yield, while insiders also sold stock in recent months and analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating.

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 50.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,150 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Aflac by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,526,000 after buying an additional 56,975 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 348.3% during the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 43,293 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,743,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Aflac by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $206,712,000 after purchasing an additional 97,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,865,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of AFL opened at $118.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $60.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $120.29. The company's 50-day moving average price is $116.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac's revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,042,771 shares of company stock valued at $120,575,104 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.27.

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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