Capital Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.29.

Aflac Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $102.52 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $106.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $56.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.