Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $22.45 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 201,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,828 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Aflac were worth $22,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 1.5%

AFL stock opened at $104.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $88.00 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.19.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.25%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac 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 owns 6,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 owns 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.93.

About Aflac

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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