Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 9,954 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Moran Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 188,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,954 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $20,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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 that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 1,042,771 shares of company stock valued at $120,575,104 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $120.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.30 and a 200-day moving average of $112.89. The firm has a market cap of $61.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $120.88.

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 business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Aflac Company 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.