J. W. Coons Advisors LLC Sells 305 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

J. W. Coons Advisors LLC reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Aflac by 13.3% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,206,000 after acquiring an additional 29,602 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 70.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 46,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,146,000 after buying an additional 19,037 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 21.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after buying an additional 3,876 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 10,878.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,597,000 after buying an additional 554,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 72,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,072,000 after buying an additional 7,341 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $102.04 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $78.62 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $104.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.41.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.86.

About Aflac

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.