Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,373 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter valued at $979,000. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at $250,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Aflac by 13.3% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,206,000 after acquiring an additional 29,602 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $104.52 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.73. The stock has a market cap of $58.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.73.

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.