Bank of New Hampshire Sells 1,415 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Bank of New Hampshire lessened its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,415 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $102.39. The stock had a trading volume of 66,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,256,654. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $56.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. StockNews.com cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.87.

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.