Cerity Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 222,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,808 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $23,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $131,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $140,746,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE AFL opened at $107.93 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.49. The stock has a market cap of $56.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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 $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,450. This trade represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,837,056. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,274 shares of company stock worth $2,948,167. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AFL. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.