Rhumbline Advisers Sells 47,754 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,212,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,754 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.21% of Aflac worth $108,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $109.07 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $61.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $73.62 and a 12 month high of $110.79.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.69.

Aflac 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.