Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10,878.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,597,000 after purchasing an additional 554,803 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,080,000 after purchasing an additional 495,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 670.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,290,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.86.

Aflac Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $102.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.35. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $78.62 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.