Cerity Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,999 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $25,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Insight Partners LLC raised its position in Aflac by 5.0% in the first quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 9,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 8.2% during the first quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Aflac by 18.0% during the first quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its stake in Aflac by 1.7% during the first quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 109,938 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Aflac by 1.7% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 17,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.07.

Aflac Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $101.56. 1,348,220 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,155,242. The stock has a market cap of $54.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $92.44 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $103.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.25.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 70,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 26,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,791.84. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.