Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 95,916 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,676,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 95,916 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.52% of Aflac worth $293,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $124.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $125.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.71.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released 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). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the company’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. This represents a 27.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Mizuho set a $112.00 price target on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.50.

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.