Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 81,280 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management reduced its Aflac stake by 22.4% in the third quarter, selling 81,280 shares and retaining 281,193 shares valued at approximately $31.4 million.
• Institutional investors own 67.44% of Aflac, while company insiders sold 713,662 shares worth about $83.3 million over the last quarter.
• Aflac has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” with a $117.20 price target. Shares recently traded at $120.48, and the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, yielding about 2.0% annually.

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 22.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 281,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 81,280 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Aflac worth $31,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 27.8% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $609,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,091 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $404,639,000. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 22.6% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $358,555,000 after purchasing an additional 603,426 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $13,466,311.83. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares in the company, valued at $5,942,422,016.37. The trade was a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 713,662 shares of company stock worth $83,323,978 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $101.00 price objective (up from $99.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Aflac from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.20.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL traded down $2.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $120.48. 1,564,457 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,595,919. The business's 50-day moving average price is $116.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $105.43 and a 12 month high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated NYSE: AFL is an insurance company specializing in supplemental health and life insurance. Through its policies, the company helps individuals and families manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including deductibles, copayments and other out-of-pocket costs.

Aflac offers products such as accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, dental and vision, disability, life and long-term care insurance. Many of its supplemental policies provide cash benefits directly to policyholders, who can generally use the funds according to their individual needs.

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