Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 32,310 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Moran Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 204,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,310 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $22,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC increased its position in Aflac by 5.0% during the second quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its position in shares of Aflac by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 6,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.5% in the second quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AFL. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.92.

Aflac Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE AFL opened at $110.23 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $57.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $110.52 and its 200 day moving average is $107.58.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 30.29%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,450. The trade was a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total value of $114,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,692,110. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.