Nicholas Wealth LLC. Sells 58,060 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Nicholas Wealth LLC. reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 86.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 58,060 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Wealth LLC.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the second quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Aflac by 95.6% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $117.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.09. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 1,009,956 shares of company stock worth $115,897,719 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

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.