SJS Investment Consulting Inc. Has $78,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. decreased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 39.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 490 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $78,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.3 %

AFL opened at $104.82 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $105.88 and its 200 day moving average is $105.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 222,618 shares in the company, 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 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.