Sawyer & Company Inc Has $1.67 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sawyer & Company Inc decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 615 shares during the period. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth $288,000. Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in Aflac by 113.0% during the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 44,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,390,000 after acquiring an additional 23,433 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Aflac by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 285,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,875,000 after acquiring an additional 6,079 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 74.0% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 18,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 7,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 111.3% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.2 %

Aflac stock opened at $89.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $68.34 and a fifty-two week high of $91.15.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.46.

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.