GAM Holding AG Sells 3,525 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

GAM Holding AG decreased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,525 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG's holdings in Aflac were worth $4,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Appleton Partners Inc. MA acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $552,000. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Segment Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $475,000. Compass Ion Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, LongView Wealth Management grew its holdings in Aflac by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 26,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,930,000 after buying an additional 6,943 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $103.31. The stock had a trading volume of 6,258,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,602. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $55.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.82. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $88.00 and a one year high of $115.50. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $104.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 21.27%. Aflac's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total transaction of $106,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,791.84. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.93.

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.