Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,369 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.05% of Aflac worth $29,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Aflac by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,206,000 after buying an additional 29,602 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Aflac by 3.1% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 50,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.0% during the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 13,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 55,155 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL traded up $0.90 on Tuesday, reaching $104.24. 1,635,739 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,803,172. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.26. The firm has a market cap of $57.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $78.38 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.00.

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.