Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 562,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 105,831 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for 0.6% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.10% of Aflac worth $58,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,206,000 after acquiring an additional 29,602 shares in the last quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $203,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $422,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $105.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $58.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $78.62 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.46.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.