Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 29,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,273 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Eudaimonia Partners LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 234.6% in the 4th quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 10,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 7,325 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 86,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,096,000 after buying an additional 15,855 shares in the last quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors Inc. now owns 139,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,481,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Aflac by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,806,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,140,000 after buying an additional 113,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,546,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.69.

Aflac Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $101.06. 648,344 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,231,549. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $104.90. The stock has a market cap of $57.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.