Private Trust Co. NA Sells 863 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Private Trust Co. NA reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 863 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Aflac were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 1.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,307,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $590,161,000 after purchasing an additional 56,776 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 10.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $397,510,000 after purchasing an additional 349,787 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Aflac by 0.8% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,730,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,441,000 after purchasing an additional 13,575 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,703,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $178,056,000 after acquiring an additional 70,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 26.2% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,654,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,515,000 after acquiring an additional 343,881 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $107.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.36 and its 200 day moving average is $105.41.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.45.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.