Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Sells 10,317 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 67.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,317 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,846,000 after acquiring an additional 281,148 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its holdings in Aflac by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,395,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,682,000 after purchasing an additional 118,720 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 26.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,338,000 after purchasing an additional 405,847 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 8.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,662,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,869,000 after purchasing an additional 136,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,584,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,153,000 after purchasing an additional 10,487 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $107.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $105.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.15. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.67.

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.