Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 82.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 50,701 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total transaction of $106,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,791.84. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,552 shares of company stock worth $7,501,752. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.93.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $103.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,035,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,109,775. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $86.46 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The company's 50-day moving average is $105.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.92.

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). The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Aflac's payout ratio 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.