Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Trims Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 151,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,082 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $15,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.21.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

Aflac stock opened at $103.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $77.01 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $104.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its 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 net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS 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 paid a $0.58 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.