Rhumbline Advisers Cuts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,125,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,736 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.20% of Aflac worth $116,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 79.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $979,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $103.46 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $78.38 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $104.18 and a 200 day moving average of $107.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 20.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AFL. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler decreased 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, 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 at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Aflac

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.