Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 141,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,276 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Aflac were worth $12,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 80.0% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock traded up $0.93 on Wednesday, reaching $89.86. 522,302 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,211,468. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.20. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $69.00 and a 12 month high of $91.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.06 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.