Masatoshi Koide Sells 37,000 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $103.50 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $86.46 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 2.24%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFL. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

About Aflac

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.