Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 607,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,803 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Aflac worth $67,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,310,640,000 after purchasing an additional 653,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,465,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,286,042,000 after purchasing an additional 288,482 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Aflac by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $754,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,753 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,250,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $543,154,000 after acquiring an additional 556,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $349,699,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $1.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $101.77. The stock had a trading volume of 733,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,148,413. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $88.00 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders 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 2.28%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price 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. Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total value of $106,790.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,791.84. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.