Kintegral Advisory LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Kintegral Advisory LLC lowered its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,025 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $102.04 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $78.62 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

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.