Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 7,589 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 27.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,589 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 1.5% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $218,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apexium Financial LP lifted its position in Aflac by 3.4% during the first quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 3,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $106.78 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $108.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $57.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.45.

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.