Clarity Financial LLC Sells 471 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Clarity Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 471 shares during the period. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 29.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at $3,099,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $552,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Aflac by 8.2% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 105,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,378,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $108.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $60.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 company 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 business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.67.

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.