Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) is Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 93,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 831 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for approximately 2.1% of Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $9,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Spinnaker Trust increased its stake in Aflac by 2.7% in the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.6% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in Aflac by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 2.5% in the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.1 %

Aflac stock opened at $104.80 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $106.55 and its 200 day moving average is $105.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. 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 34.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction 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 approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.07.

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.