Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,004 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $192,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $852,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Aflac by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.7%

Aflac stock traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $101.56. 1,348,220 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,152,729. 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 firm has a market cap of $54.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $103.79 and a 200 day moving average of $105.23. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $91.99 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total transaction of $106,790.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,791.84. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.90% of the stock is owned by 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.