Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stake Lessened by GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lessened its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 35.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,274 shares during the quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 2,210.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 158,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 151,673 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 38,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,935,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 64,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,592,000 after purchasing an additional 18,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 70,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the sale, 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 valued at $4,304,295 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $102.06. 2,259,291 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,115,769. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82. The business's fifty day moving average is $105.09 and its 200-day moving average is $105.53. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $86.55 and a one year high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.25%.

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.