Legal Advantage Investments Inc. Trims Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Legal Advantage Investments Inc. lessened its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

AFL opened at $106.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $59.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $106.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.47. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.