Metis Global Partners LLC Has $2.71 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Metis Global Partners LLC trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 714 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Up 0.8 %

AFL opened at $85.39 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $64.10 and a twelve month high of $86.26. The firm has a market cap of $48.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.91.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 2.34%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.31.

About Aflac

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.