VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Sells 248,878 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al cut its Aflac stake by 45.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 248,878 shares and leaving it with 302,100 shares worth about $33.3 million.
• Aflac reported quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, which missed analyst expectations of $1.80, though revenue of $4.24 billion came in slightly above estimates and rose 27.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, payable June 1, while analysts currently have an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.36.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 45.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 302,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 248,878 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.06% of Aflac worth $33,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Argos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,012,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its position in Aflac by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 13,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 42,311 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 573,475 shares of company stock valued at $63,610,696. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $116.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $59.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50-day moving average is $111.53 and its 200 day moving average is $111.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's payout ratio is 27.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.36.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.