Kwmg LLC Sells 3,483 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Kwmg LLC reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,483 shares during the period. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,807,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,319,000 after acquiring an additional 285,576 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 6.4% during the third 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. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,429,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,437,000 after buying an additional 31,752 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,276,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $254,382,000 after buying an additional 83,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,220,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,279,000 after buying an additional 117,504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.29.

Aflac Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:AFL traded up $1.53 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $102.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,028,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,829. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $106.63 and a 200 day moving average of $104.93. The company has a market capitalization of $56.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50.

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. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.