Centiva Capital LP Cuts Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Centiva Capital LP lowered its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 65.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,254 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP’s holdings in Aflac were worth $553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $105.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $85.43 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac 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.