Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Cuts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Aflac were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Aflac by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,206,000 after purchasing an additional 29,602 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 21.5% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,450,000 after buying an additional 3,876 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 11.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 72,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,072,000 after buying an additional 7,341 shares during the last quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Aflac by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,698,000 after acquiring an additional 12,348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 2.6 %

AFL stock opened at $106.77 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $78.62 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $59.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.47.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS 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 paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

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.