Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Decreases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 580 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth 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 period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 2,210.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 158,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 151,673 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 146.2% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,415,000 after buying an additional 19,608 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 38,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,935,000 after buying an additional 3,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 26,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,791.84. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.93.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $102.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $86.46 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $105.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.80. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The business’s revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.25%.

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.