Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AFL. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 10,878.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,597,000 after purchasing an additional 554,803 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Aflac by 471.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,080,000 after purchasing an additional 495,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Aflac by 670.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth $42,290,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $104.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.33 and a 200-day moving average of $107.05. The firm has a market cap of $57.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $78.20 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders 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 a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.00.

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.