Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Holdings Reduced by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,534 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,053,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 64,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,592,000 after acquiring an additional 18,366 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 16,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Finally, Sage Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI cut 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.6 %

Aflac stock opened at $103.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $57.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $104.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.09. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $78.38 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.83%.

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.