Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,980 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $9,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Spinnaker Trust raised its position in Aflac by 2.7% during the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 1.0% in 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 grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $104.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. 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. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.67.

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.