Sawyer & Company Inc Sells 910 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sawyer & Company Inc lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 910 shares during the quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 6,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Websterrogers Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,246,000. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $348,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 24,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,509,000 after purchasing an additional 8,328 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $104.80 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.12. The stock has a market cap of $58.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. 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 company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued 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 $102.07.

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.