Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 11,624 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,624 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $26,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Aflac by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 46,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,161,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Aflac by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $210,000. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 14.6% in the third quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 9,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BIP Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 367.8% in the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 12,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 9,773 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $193,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at $153,450. This trade represents a 55.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total value of $114,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,692,110. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $107.08 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $109.89 and a 200 day moving average of $108.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The business’s revenue was up 59.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.64.

About Aflac

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.