Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Sells 100 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Aflac were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $106.77 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $104.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.47. The firm has a market cap of $59.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $78.62 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 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 issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

About Aflac

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.