Norway Savings Bank Sells 455 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Norway Savings Bank lessened its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 455 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Aflac were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 23,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,495,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 24,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 10,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 500 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.60, for a total transaction of $34,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,116. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Aflac news, CFO James Todd Daniels sold 3,355 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.51, for a total transaction of $249,981.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,491,015.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 500 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.60, for a total transaction of $34,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,885,116. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,170 shares of company stock valued at $2,286,000 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.51. 5,220,708 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,444,733. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.93. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $56.03 and a 52 week high of $78.43.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $5.17 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 22nd. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Aflac from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, 888 reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, June 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.82.

About Aflac

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.