Core Alternative Capital Sells 6,174 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Core Alternative Capital cut its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,174 shares during the period. Core Alternative Capital’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 0.8% during the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Aflac by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Aflac by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $601,538.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,368 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,447.04. The trade was a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.64.

Aflac Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $108.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.83. The company has a market cap of $56.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.12.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.72. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.29%.

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.