Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 2,409 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,409 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 11,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $110.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $107.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.52.

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

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

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.