Key Points
- Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 31,100 Aflac shares on May 22 at an average price of $117.78, totaling about $3.66 million, as part of a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
- The insider has been steadily reducing its stake, with several additional Aflac sales reported in recent days and weeks, though it still holds more than 51.3 million shares valued at roughly $6.05 billion.
- Aflac reported quarterly earnings of $1.75 per share, missing estimates, but revenue came in above forecasts at $4.24 billion; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share payable June 1.
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.81, for a total transaction of $648,897.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,537 shares in the company, valued at $4,775,663.97. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.
Aflac Price Performance
Shares of AFL stock opened at $114.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $58.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.62. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $112.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.79. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.81.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.Aflac's revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.
Aflac Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.70%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
AFL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.27.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Aflac
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Aflac by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in Aflac by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Aflac Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.
Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.
Further Reading
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
