Monarch Capital Management Inc. Sells 135 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Aflac comprises 1.7% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.07.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $106.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $106.41 and its 200 day moving average is $105.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% 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.