Joseph Moskowitz Sells 600 Shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Director Joseph Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.73, for a total value of $68,238.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,885,102.64. This represents a 2.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $2.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $115.44. 2,055,820 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,331,574. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.96. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore raised Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFL. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.