Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Has $4.14 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI cut its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 39,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,620 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Spinnaker Trust boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $106.38 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $105.88 and its 200 day moving average is $106.04. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $59.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.