Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC trimmed its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 274,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,506 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for approximately 1.5% of Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $28,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,728 shares in the company, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 34,552 shares of company stock worth $3,702,552. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.57.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded down $2.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $103.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,380,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,230. The business has a fifty day moving average of $106.97 and a 200-day moving average of $106.46. The stock has a market cap of $56.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $86.46 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.25%.

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.