Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) is Vest Financial LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 826,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 54,973 shares during the period. Aflac comprises approximately 1.5% of Vest Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.15% of Aflac worth $85,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 10,878.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,597,000 after purchasing an additional 554,803 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 471.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,080,000 after acquiring an additional 495,000 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 670.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 484,378 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,290,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.00.

Aflac Trading Down 0.0 %

AFL stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,811,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,827,316. The stock has a market cap of $57.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $104.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.07. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $77.01 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.