Pathstone Holdings LLC Sells 1,415 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Pathstone Holdings LLC cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 127,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,415 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $13,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $105.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $106.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.51. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $86.46 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.40 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 boosted their target price on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Aflac from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.21.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

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

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.