New Hampshire Trust Cuts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

New Hampshire Trust lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 135 shares during the quarter. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Aflac were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 10,878.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,597,000 after purchasing an additional 554,803 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 495,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 670.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,572,000 after buying an additional 484,378 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 405,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,290,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

Aflac stock opened at $106.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current 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 P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $106.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.47. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.07.

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.