Cozad Asset Management Inc. Sells 578 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Cozad Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 108.5% in the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 10,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $696,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $376,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.6% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 528,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,696,000 after purchasing an additional 23,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

Aflac stock opened at $110.97 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.06 and a 200-day moving average of $106.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 31.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,450. This trade represents a 55.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,837,056. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,822 shares of company stock worth $2,571,002. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.00.

Aflac Company Profile

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.