Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $63.67 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 615,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,197 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Aflac worth $63,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $104.53 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $104.16 and its 200-day moving average is $107.28. The company has a market cap of $58.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $78.38 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.9 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.83%.

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.