Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 801,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 70,926 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $87,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $122.89 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $62.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $117.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.63. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $124.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Mizuho set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.