Monarch Capital Management Inc. Has $6.38 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for 1.7% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $979,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 4.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AFL. Piper Sandler lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.07.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $106.43 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $106.41 and a 200-day moving average of $105.25. The firm has a market cap of $59.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

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.