Aflac (NYSE:AFL) EVP Audrey Tillman Sells 15,862 Shares of Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) EVP Audrey Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $25,837,056. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Aflac Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:AFL opened at $110.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.07. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.83.

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

Aflac announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aflac

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFL. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 188.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 1,526.7% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $26,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $104.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

About Aflac

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.