iA Global Asset Management Inc. Lowers Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 21.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,825 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 25,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 24,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,107,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in Aflac by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 6.6 %

Aflac stock traded up $6.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $101.65. The company had a trading volume of 7,523,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,233,872. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.47. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $104.90. The company has a market capitalization of $57.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.69.

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.