Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Has $4.14 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,532 shares during the period. Aflac makes up 0.4% of Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 95.6% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,300 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.55, for a total value of $268,065.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,978.30. The trade was a 27.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 1,740 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.57, for a total transaction of $202,831.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,540,938.83. This represents a 11.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 844,428 shares of company stock valued at $95,391,275. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $116.89 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $59.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $112.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.78.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

About Aflac

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.