Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB lessened its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,770 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Aflac were worth $3,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total value of $106,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,295 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $102.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,259,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,769. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $86.55 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $105.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.59. The company has a market cap of $55.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

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.