Catalina Capital Group LLC lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 53.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,441 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,409,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 12,313.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,504,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $167,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,951 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $754,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $285,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.
Aflac Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $103.31. The stock had a trading volume of 6,258,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,129,449. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $104.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $88.00 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Aflac Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 36.25%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.93.
View Our Latest Analysis on AFL
Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac
In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 26,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,791.84. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the 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 now owns 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
About Aflac
(
Free Report)
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.
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