Masatoshi Koide Sells 37,000 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $103.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $55.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $86.46 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $106.97 and a 200 day moving average of $106.46.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Institutional Trading of Aflac

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Aflac by 121.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.57.

About Aflac

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.