Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 4,237 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 317,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,237 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.06% of Aflac worth $34,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Midwest Trust Co lifted its stake in Aflac by 1,700.8% in the first quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 162,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,880,000 after buying an additional 153,925 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Aflac by 135.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 142,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,599,000 after acquiring an additional 81,803 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.4% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 43,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,737,000 after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 328,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,026,000 after acquiring an additional 18,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 7.7% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 26,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $121.98. 1,193,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,392,482. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $116.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.28. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $122.80. The company has a market capitalization of $62.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the sale, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Mizuho set a $112.00 price objective on Aflac in a research report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.08.

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.