Welch Group LLC Sells 8,299 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Welch Group LLC lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 15.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,299 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Aflac by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after buying an additional 56,975 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 348.3% in the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,743,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Aflac by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,866,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,712,000 after acquiring an additional 97,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,865,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 1.5%

Aflac stock opened at $120.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $120.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.82 and a 200-day moving average of $112.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,082,471 shares of company stock worth $124,943,184. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Profile

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.