Aflac Incorporated $AFL Position Reduced by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 69.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,488 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Aflac were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,483,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,385,000 after acquiring an additional 69,025 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Aflac by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $438,621,000 after acquiring an additional 13,666 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $420,078,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,664,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,846,000 after purchasing an additional 32,907 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $117.22 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $116.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $59.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $120.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,062,871 shares of company stock valued at $122,790,124. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.