Audrey Tillman Sells 3,452 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) EVP Audrey Tillman sold 3,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.10, for a total value of $397,325.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $26,552,188.80. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Aflac Trading Down 0.5%

AFL stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $111.76. 2,253,456 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,193,316. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $109.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.97. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 188.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth $28,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.