Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 1,573 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,573 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Eudaimonia Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 234.6% in the 4th quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 10,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 7,325 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 86,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,096,000 after acquiring an additional 15,855 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. now owns 139,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,481,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Aflac by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,806,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,140,000 after acquiring an additional 113,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,546,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac 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 directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Aflac from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.46.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $94.82. 1,146,715 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,827,182. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.81 and its 200-day moving average is $85.21. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $71.97 and a 52 week high of $95.49. The stock has a market cap of $53.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95.

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. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 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.