Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stake Reduced by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 83.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,065 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,846,000 after purchasing an additional 281,148 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,395,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,682,000 after buying an additional 118,720 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 8.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,662,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,869,000 after buying an additional 136,238 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,584,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,153,000 after buying an additional 10,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Aflac by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,529,000 after acquiring an additional 127,911 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $107.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $105.61 and its 200-day moving average is $106.28.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.67.

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.