Federated Hermes Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated by 41.3% during the first quarter, holding 4,294 shares valued at $477,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Aflac's recent quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.78, surpassing analysts' expectations, although its revenue of $4.16 billion fell short of the projected $4.30 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $2.32 and a yield of 2.2%, with a payout ratio of 52.61%.

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 41.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,027 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.23.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:AFL traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $104.17. 2,012,962 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,157,834. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $55.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.89.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 6,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,149.60. The trade was a 29.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac 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.