Willis Investment Counsel Sells 18,747 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Willis Investment Counsel reduced its Aflac stake by 5.8%, selling 18,747 shares during the third quarter. It still held 305,797 shares worth approximately $34.2 million, representing 1.5% of its portfolio.
• Aflac shares recently traded at $119.34, while the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, equivalent to a 2.0% annual yield. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the stock.
• Aflac slightly missed quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $1.75 in EPS versus the $1.76 consensus, though revenue exceeded expectations. Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $117.20.

Willis Investment Counsel decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 305,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,747 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for about 1.5% of Willis Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel owned 0.06% of Aflac worth $34,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth $25,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth $26,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.67 on Tuesday, hitting $119.34. The stock had a trading volume of 357,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,266,136. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.33. The company has a market cap of $59.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.56. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $105.43 and a one year high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%. The firm's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $13,466,311.83. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,942,422,016.37. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 713,662 shares of company stock worth $83,323,978 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated NYSE: AFL is an insurance company specializing in supplemental health and life insurance. Through its policies, the company helps individuals and families manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including deductibles, copayments and other out-of-pocket costs.

Aflac offers products such as accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, dental and vision, disability, life and long-term care insurance. Many of its supplemental policies provide cash benefits directly to policyholders, who can generally use the funds according to their individual needs.

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.