National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 245,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,361 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Aflac were worth $20,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $82.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock valued at $3,765,706 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $84.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,252,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,304,435. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.10 and a 52 week high of $86.26. The company's 50-day moving average is $83.33 and its 200-day moving average is $81.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $48.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.91.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is a positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

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.