Natixis Advisors L.P. Sells 8,290 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Natixis Advisors L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 253,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,290 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $20,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Aflac news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total transaction of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,879,451.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.31.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $83.21 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $83.14 and its 200 day moving average is $81.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $64.10 and a twelve month high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 22.08%.

Aflac Company 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.