Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stake Lowered by Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. decreased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,044 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $105.31. 2,161,014 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,231,188. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $59.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $105.80. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.41.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.69.

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.