Aflac Incorporated $AFL Holdings Decreased by Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 108 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises about 1.2% of Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth about $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth about $551,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 121.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 11.8% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,478,000 after acquiring an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth about $2,626,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.45.

Aflac Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $111.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.51.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

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.