Joseph Moskowitz Sells 600 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Director Joseph Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.73, for a total value of $68,238.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,368 shares in the company, valued at $2,885,102.64. This represents a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Aflac Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $2.34 on Monday, reaching $115.44. The company had a trading volume of 2,055,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,331,574. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly 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). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.70%.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $411,000. Andra AP fonden acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $4,177,000. Long Road Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Long Road Investment Counsel LLC now owns 44,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,899,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 105.8% during the 1st quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 7,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 4,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have issued 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 $111.36.

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.