Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Estabrook Capital Management

Estabrook Capital Management lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $287,202,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 16,040 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.86, for a total value of $1,216,794.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 53,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,090,750.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.60, for a total transaction of $34,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,116. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 16,040 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.86, for a total value of $1,216,794.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 53,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,090,750.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,170 shares of company stock valued at $2,286,000. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3 %

Aflac stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.80. The company had a trading volume of 722,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,424,727. The stock has a market cap of $44.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.94. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $56.03 and a 1 year high of $78.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $72.68 and a 200 day moving average of $68.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $5.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.52 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 16.10%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 23rd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 22nd. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Aflac from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, August 18th. 888 reissued a “reiterates” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, June 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $79.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.00.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. It operates in two segments, Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. 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.