Northcape Wealth Management LLC Sells 146 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $104.24 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $78.38 and a 12 month 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 company has a market capitalization of $57.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $104.15 and its 200 day moving average is $107.30.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS 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%. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

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.