Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Sells 4,210 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 61.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,210 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 79.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,058,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $948,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL traded down $2.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $102.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,539,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,717. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $78.62 and a one year high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $104.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.