Forum Financial Management LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Forum Financial Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 69.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,488 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Aflac were worth $354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 141.4% during the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,224,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 130.7% during the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 7,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 4,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 251,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,569,000 after buying an additional 8,674 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,062,871 shares of company stock worth $122,790,124. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.27.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $117.22 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $120.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $116.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 27.70%.

Aflac Company Profile

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.