Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Has $230,000 Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 228 shares during the quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Aflac were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 10,878.5% in the 3rd 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% in 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 purchasing an additional 495,000 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 26.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,338,000 after buying an additional 405,847 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth about $42,290,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $102.52 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $106.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.29.

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.