U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,163 shares during the period. Aflac comprises 0.7% of U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $22,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays set a $98.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.64.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL traded down $1.69 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $102.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,667,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,150,410. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $88.00 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $55.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,295. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.