Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Decreases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,620 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $979,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $106.38 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $105.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.04. The firm has a market cap of $59.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.67.

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.