Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. Decreases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 471.4% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,080,000 after purchasing an additional 495,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 670.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,290,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 281,148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $109.46 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $104.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $78.62 and a one year high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $60.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99.

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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

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.