Strategic Investment Advisors MI Trims Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Strategic Investment Advisors MI cut its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 75.2% during the third 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 period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 79.7% during the third 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 period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $979,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after acquiring an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3 %

AFL opened at $104.82 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $105.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 2.10 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.67.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.