First Horizon Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 263 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $1,558,000. abrdn plc lifted its position in Aflac by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 298,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,604,000 after acquiring an additional 100,937 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 353.3% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 11,499 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Aflac by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,693,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,676,000 after purchasing an additional 348,400 shares during the period. Finally, G&S Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 65.1% during the fourth quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 31,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 12,551 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $83.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.87.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total transaction of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the transaction, the director now owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.