Cetera Investment Advisers Cuts Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 348,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,870 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers owned approximately 0.07% of Aflac worth $38,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Aflac by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.6% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AFL opened at $125.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $125.93. The stock has a market cap of $63.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.19.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac 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.