Sabal Trust CO Has $38.01 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sabal Trust CO decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 341,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,934 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up 2.1% of Sabal Trust CO’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in Aflac were worth $38,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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 raised their price objective on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,791.84. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $102.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $104.67 and a 200 day moving average of $105.20. The firm has a market cap of $55.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.82. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $88.00 and a one year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its 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 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders 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 2.26%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

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.