Brookstone Capital Management Lowers Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Brookstone Capital Management reduced its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,095 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd 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 position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen started coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $104.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $58.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.12. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.94%.

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.