Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $26.95 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Moran Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 242,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,970 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises approximately 0.9% of Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $26,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Callan Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 14,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 10,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was 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 $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total value of $106,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.93.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $104.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,957,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,855. The company has a market cap of $56.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.82. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $88.00 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The business's fifty day moving average is $104.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's payout ratio is 36.25%.

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.