Kentucky Retirement Systems Acquires 3,065 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Aflac were worth $4,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $103.31 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $104.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. 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 1 year low of $88.00 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Aflac had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 21.27%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Aflac's payout ratio is 36.25%.

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.

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