Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stake Lowered by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 200,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,866 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Aflac were worth $22,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,310,640,000 after buying an additional 653,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,465,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,286,042,000 after buying an additional 288,482 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Aflac by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $754,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,753 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,250,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $543,154,000 after acquiring an additional 556,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $349,699,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of AFL traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $102.08. 1,774,254 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,996,419. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.07. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $86.46 and a 12-month high of $115.50. 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 firm has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold 71,552 shares of company stock valued at $7,609,382 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AFL. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.93.

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.