Welch Group LLC Sells 1,393 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Welch Group LLC cut its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,393 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 56,776 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 349,787 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted 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 acquiring an additional 13,575 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 26.2% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,654,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,515,000 after acquiring an additional 343,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Aflac by 6.6% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,607,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,725,000 after acquiring an additional 99,419 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $110.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $59.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, 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 $115.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $107.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.45.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac 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.