Columbus Macro LLC Trims Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Columbus Macro LLC cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,289 shares during the period. Aflac comprises approximately 1.0% of Columbus Macro LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Columbus Macro LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $7,538,000 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 stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,409,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,491,951 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,357,753 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,232,683 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $102.06 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $86.55 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $55.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $105.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.47.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, 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 now directly owns 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% 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 valued at $4,304,295. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.93.

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.

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