Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA Decreases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lowered its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 385,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,489 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for approximately 2.5% of Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA’s holdings in Aflac were worth $39,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $1,577,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 10,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $10,295,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 27,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,863,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AFL. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $102.04 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.41. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $78.62 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.17%.

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.