Buffington Mohr McNeal Lowers Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Buffington Mohr McNeal decreased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Aflac were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth $288,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Aflac by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 18,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 7,926 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 111.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 78.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 25,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 11,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Aflac by 1,899.4% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 64,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,944,000 after purchasing an additional 61,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AFL traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $89.41. 1,898,602 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,244,083. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $87.14 and its 200-day moving average is $83.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $69.00 and a fifty-two week high of $91.15. The company has a market cap of $50.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AFL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.69.

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.