Joseph Moskowitz Sells 12,370 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Director Joseph Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $117.73. The stock had a trading volume of 355,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,443,294. The company has a market cap of $59.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.61. 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 Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 27.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $280,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Aflac by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,854,000 after acquiring an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

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.