UMB Bank n.a. Sells 255 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

UMB Bank n.a. trimmed its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 80.0% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $111.62 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $107.42 and its 200 day moving average is $94.51. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for 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%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

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.