Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Legal Advantage Investments Inc.

Legal Advantage Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Legal Advantage Investments Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.07.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $106.43 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $106.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.47. 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 has a market cap of $59.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during 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%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

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.