Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock Position Lowered by Core Alternative Capital

Core Alternative Capital decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,738 shares during the period. Aflac makes up approximately 1.9% of Core Alternative Capital's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Core Alternative Capital's holdings in Aflac were worth $8,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Spinnaker Trust lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 1.0% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $0.62 on Friday, hitting $103.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,450,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,808,754. The company has a market cap of $57.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.26 and a 200 day moving average of $107.02. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $78.38 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.58 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 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 through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI lowered 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.00.

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.