Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,106,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 116,431 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $327,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 252,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,060,000 after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 74,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,313,000 after purchasing an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGP Franklin LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 71.5% in the first quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 16,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 6,856 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,450. This trade represents a 55.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $25,837,056. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,822 shares of company stock worth $2,571,002. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $110.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $110.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. On average, research 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 stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group cut their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

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.