Ridgewood Investments LLC Has $1.56 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Ridgewood Investments LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 871 shares during the period. Aflac makes up about 0.7% of Ridgewood Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% in the third 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 period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.29.

Aflac Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of AFL stock traded down $3.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.55. 470,023 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,399,940. The business has a 50 day moving average of $106.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $55.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.94%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by 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.