Sowell Financial Services LLC Invests $865,000 in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 7,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $865,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5%

AFL stock opened at $102.56 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $88.00 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $55.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $105.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.35.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,149.60. The trade was a 29.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,295 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.93.

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.