Forsta AP Fonden Has $16.15 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 156,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Aflac were worth $16,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 29.3% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $366,000. Centennial Bank AR raised its holdings in Aflac by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,099,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AFL. Bank of America upped their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE AFL opened at $107.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $59.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.