Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Cuts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 59.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,238 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eudaimonia Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 234.6% in the fourth quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 10,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 7,325 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,558,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 86,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,096,000 after purchasing an additional 15,855 shares during the last quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. now owns 139,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,481,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,546,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $89.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.14 and a 200 day moving average of $83.87. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $69.00 and a 52 week high of $91.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.