Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Sells 149 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AFL opened at $106.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $106.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $59.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.07.

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.