First National Trust Co Lowers Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

First National Trust Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,494 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Aflac by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,972,000 after acquiring an additional 2,913 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Aflac by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 19,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 3,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 77,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AFL. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total transaction of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,735,635.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 in the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Trading Down 1.0 %

AFL traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.21. 2,938,536 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,533,085. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.10 and a 52 week high of $86.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.06.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

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.