Northstar Financial Companies Inc. Sells 4,809 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 35.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,809 shares during the quarter. Northstar Financial Companies Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $122.14 on Wednesday. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $124.00. The company has a market capitalization of $62.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $117.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.47.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.50.

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.