Everence Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,330 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.8 %

AFL stock opened at $103.16 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $57.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $107.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.94%.

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.