Insider Selling: Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Director Sells $114,000.00 in Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Director Joseph Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total transaction of $114,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,692,110. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $114.27 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $109.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.95. The firm has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th 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 is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Aflac by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 234,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,236,000 after purchasing an additional 12,723 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares in the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth $19,110,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,631,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,583,000 after acquiring an additional 261,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 9,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.