Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Oakworth Capital Inc.

Oakworth Capital Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $979,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after acquiring an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $250,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value 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 approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.71.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $107.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.74. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.69 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

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.