State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 17,387 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,387 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 79.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $979,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $250,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $103.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $57.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.74. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $77.01 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.