Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. Has $849,000 Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 79.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $948,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Aflac by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $106.77 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $78.62 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.19 and a 200-day moving average of $107.47. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $59.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. 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 payout ratio is 24.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.86.

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.