Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Get Rating) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Aflac were worth $2,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Edmp Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 6,918.5% in the fourth quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 3,676,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,110,000 after buying an additional 3,624,445 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 62.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,936,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,212 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 225.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,076,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,493,000 after purchasing an additional 745,346 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 58.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,792,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,737,000 after purchasing an additional 661,438 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 21,537.7% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 595,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,314,000 after purchasing an additional 592,287 shares during the period. 66.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $66.91 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $52.07 and a one year high of $74.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.15. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 22.90%. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 16th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.24%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, CFO Steven Kent Beaver sold 13,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total transaction of $870,116.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,379,199.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven Kent Beaver sold 13,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total transaction of $870,116.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,379,199.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Frederick John Crawford sold 59,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.43, for a total value of $4,040,996.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 321,367 shares in the company, valued at $21,991,143.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,111 shares of company stock valued at $6,740,998 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Aflac from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Raymond James raised their target price on Aflac from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Aflac from $77.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.22.

About Aflac

(Get Rating)

Aflac, Inc is a holding company. engages in the provision of financial protection services. It operates through the followings segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac United States (U.S.). The Aflac Japan segment offers life insurance, death benefits, and cash surrender values. The Aflac U.S. segment sells voluntary supplemental insurance products for people who already have major medical or primary insurance coverage.