Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 330 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 79.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $979,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after acquiring an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6 %

AFL opened at $103.46 on Monday. 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 $78.38 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $57.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.18 and a 200-day moving average of $107.17.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.