Palisade Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Palisade Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 79,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.31.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

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

Aflac Trading Up 0.2 %

Aflac stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,690,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,290,899. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26. The firm has a market cap of $48.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.33 and a 200 day moving average of $81.99.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

Aflac 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.