Davis Capital Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Davis Capital Management decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 224 shares during the quarter. Davis Capital Management’s holdings in Aflac were worth $130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 104,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,801,000 after acquiring an additional 23,966 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 23,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 4,336 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $106.36 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $59.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $106.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.59.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 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, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.07.

Aflac Company 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.