Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Free Report) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,534 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 79.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $979,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.
Aflac Price Performance
NYSE:AFL opened at $103.46 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $104.18 and a 200-day moving average of $107.09. The company has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $78.38 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10.
Aflac Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.83%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently issued reports on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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, January 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.00.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AFL
Insider Activity at Aflac
In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
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.
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