Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $457,000 Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 291 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 75.2% in 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 stake in shares of Aflac by 79.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $979,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after acquiring an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE AFL opened at $102.98 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $77.01 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $104.41 and a 200-day moving average of $107.07. The company has a market cap of $57.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued 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 2.25%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac 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 directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.