apricus wealth LLC Decreases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

apricus wealth LLC lowered its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. apricus wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $101.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $54.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82. 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 1-year low of $86.46 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $104.99 and its 200 day moving average is $105.75.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 36.25%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,728 shares in the company, valued at $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,295. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.93.

Aflac 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.