Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 0.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,223,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,575 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.59% of Aflac worth $358,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $9,297,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Aflac by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 7,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich raised its stake in Aflac by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 16,693 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $397,510,000 after purchasing an additional 349,787 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 9,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 70,992 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 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 three months, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,300,075. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.
Aflac Price Performance
NYSE AFL traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $103.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,231,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,164,891. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.83. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $102.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.89.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.
Aflac Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
AFL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays set a $98.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.23.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Aflac
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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