Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Maj Invest Holding A S

Maj Invest Holding A S trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 619,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 796,656 shares during the period. Aflac makes up about 2.1% of Maj Invest Holding A S’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Maj Invest Holding A S owned 0.11% of Aflac worth $64,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 10,878.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,597,000 after acquiring an additional 554,803 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,080,000 after purchasing an additional 495,000 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Aflac by 670.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Aflac by 26.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,338,000 after buying an additional 405,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,290,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $104.82 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company 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.