Aflac (NYSE:AFL) EVP Steven Kent Beaver Sells 3,452 Shares

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 3,452 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.26, for a total value of $377,165.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,860 shares in the company, valued at $4,792,143.60. The trade was a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.06. The stock had a trading volume of 453,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,197,654. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $110.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.45. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%.The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.29%.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 0.8% in the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Aflac by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

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.