Burney Co. Lowers Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Burney Co. lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,021 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 80.0% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.08.

Aflac Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $2.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.24. The company had a trading volume of 3,471,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,218,089. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $104.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $90.78 and its 200-day moving average is $85.70. The stock has a market cap of $56.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.