Wallington Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Wallington Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TFG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 3,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $327,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $237,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $1,146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $112.14 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $63.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.48.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.