Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 327,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,328 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises approximately 1.3% of Conning Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Conning Inc. owned about 0.06% of Aflac worth $36,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 653,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.4% in the 4th 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 period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Aflac by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $754,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,753 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 11.9% during the fourth 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 worth $543,154,000 after purchasing an additional 556,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $349,699,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,728 shares in the company, valued at $711,149.60. The trade was a 29.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AFL stock traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.57. 994,901 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,150,489. The firm has a market cap of $56.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $88.00 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $104.25 and a 200 day moving average of $105.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 21.27%. The company's revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.50.

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.