Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock Holdings Decreased by Athena Investment Management

Athena Investment Management lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,083 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for approximately 1.1% of Athena Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Athena Investment Management’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced 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. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

Insider Activity

In related 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $109.46 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 firm has a market cap of $60.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.52. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $78.62 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

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.