Capital Advisors Inc. OK Reduces Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 67.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,423 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK's holdings in Aflac were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AFL. BMO Capital Markets began 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 on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. increased their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $103.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,450,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,719,400. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $104.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.17. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $78.38 and a one year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 20.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company'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 transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.