Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 331 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $103.62 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $77.01 and a 52-week 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. 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 currently 20.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.21.

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.