Nicholas Wealth LLC. Has $1.01 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Nicholas Wealth LLC sharply reduced its Aflac stake by 86.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 58,060 shares and leaving it with 9,113 shares valued at about $1.01 million.
• Aflac reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings per share of $1.75 missing estimates but revenue of $4.24 billion topping expectations and rising 27.9% from a year earlier.
• The insurer recently paid a $0.61 quarterly dividend, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $112.27.

Nicholas Wealth LLC. lowered its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 86.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 58,060 shares during the period. Nicholas Wealth LLC.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Aflac by 95.6% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 53,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.74, for a total value of $6,240,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,014,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,006,474,898.90. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 1,009,956 shares of company stock valued at $115,897,719 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

AFL opened at $117.38 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $114.95 and a 200-day moving average of $112.09.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.27.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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