Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 514 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. SVB Wealth LLC grew its position in Aflac by 1.4% during the third quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 10,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $796,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in Aflac by 16.9% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its position in Aflac by 1.1% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 279,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,482,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in Aflac by 16.1% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 144,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,067,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Finally, Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE grew its position in Aflac by 8.6% during the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 11,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $83.21 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $64.10 and a twelve month high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on AFL shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total transaction of $666,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares in the company, valued at $2,735,635.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.