LSV Asset Management Reduces Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

LSV Asset Management decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,616,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 170,180 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up 0.8% of LSV Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.79% of Aflac worth $380,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AFL. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $82.31.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $83.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,938,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,533,085. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.06. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $64.10 and a twelve month high of $86.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50-day moving average price is $83.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.90.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This is a boost from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares in the company, valued at $2,735,635.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares in the company, valued at $2,735,635.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac 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.