Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 6,105 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 475,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,105 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.09% of Aflac worth $52,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $102.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $88.00 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Aflac's payout ratio is 36.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 26,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,791.84. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 70,992 shares in the company, valued at $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 valued at $4,304,295 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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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