Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 5,934 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,934 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 276.8% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Syon Capital LLC raised its position in Aflac by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 18,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,045,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. Valtrion Capital Management LLC raised its position in Aflac by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Valtrion Capital Management LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.81, for a total transaction of $648,897.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,775,663.97. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 918,456 shares of company stock worth $104,689,311 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $115.40 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $114.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.87. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released 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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Aflac’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.27.

About Aflac

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.