Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 27.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,811 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 25,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,065,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 80.0% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.8% in the third quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 5,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $89.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $87.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.87. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $69.00 and a 1 year high of $91.15.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.69.

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.