Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,505 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spinnaker Trust increased its holdings in Aflac by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $102.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $57.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.07. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $77.01 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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 analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 20.83%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three 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, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.00.

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.