Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA

Key Points

• Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA cut its Aflac stake by 97.2% in the first quarter, selling 128,790 shares and retaining just 3,750 shares worth about $406,000.
• Insider selling was also notable: Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares, and major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.
• Aflac’s recent results and valuation were mixed, with Q1 EPS of $1.75 missing estimates but revenue topping expectations at $4.24 billion; the stock recently traded near its 12-month high at $120.04 and carries a consensus analyst rating of “Hold.”

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lowered its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 97.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 128,790 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Aflac were worth $406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 95.6% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 1,082,471 shares of company stock worth $124,943,184 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore raised Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.27.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $120.04 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $115.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $120.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.61.

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 return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

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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