Truist Financial Corp Sells 323,505 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 49.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 329,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 323,505 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $34,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew 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. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 306,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,225,000 after buying an additional 3,845 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.8% in the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 70.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 46,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,146,000 after buying an additional 19,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.9 %

AFL opened at $104.24 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $78.38 and a fifty-two 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. The company has a market capitalization of $57.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.15 and a 200-day moving average of $107.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AFL. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.00.

Aflac 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.