Blue Trust Inc. Has $887,000 Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Blue Trust Inc. cut its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,164 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 80.0% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.69.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,687,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,080,387. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $69.00 and a 12-month high of $91.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Aflac Company 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.