Sentry Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 329 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Aflac by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,206,000 after buying an additional 29,602 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 72,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,072,000 after acquiring an additional 7,341 shares during the period. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Aflac by 21.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,698,000 after purchasing an additional 12,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $106.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $59.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $78.62 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $104.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors 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 boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial raised 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, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

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.