J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Free Report) by 30.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,964 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $420,078,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 132.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,078,000 after buying an additional 699,080 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Aflac by 180.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 252,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,320,000 after buying an additional 565,884 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.
Aflac Stock Down 2.5%
Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $115.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.81. The company has a market cap of $58.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61.
Aflac Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 889,146 shares of company stock valued at $100,944,053. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Aflac
Aflac Profile
Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.
Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.
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