Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp trimmed its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 606 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 7,001.0% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 667,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 658,303 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10,878.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,597,000 after buying an additional 554,803 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Aflac by 471.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,080,000 after acquiring an additional 495,000 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 26.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,338,000 after acquiring an additional 405,847 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,290,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $104.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.84.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. 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 2.22%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. 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. Bank of America upped their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.73.

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.