Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario decreased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,200 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Aflac by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 21,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays upped their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.21.

Aflac Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:AFL traded up $1.83 on Thursday, hitting $105.73. 1,521,850 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,106,400. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $107.01 and a 200-day moving average of $106.54. The stock has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $85.77 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 2.19%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total value of $106,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,791.84. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,877. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Company 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.