Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. Sells 130 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 24.4% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.0% during the second quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.4% during the second quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $110.78 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $107.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.52. The firm has a market cap of $59.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AFL shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.45.

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.