Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 243,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,527 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $25,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spinnaker Trust increased its stake in Aflac by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during 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. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $104.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $57.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $106.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.72. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AFL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.07.

Aflac Company 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.