Telos Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Telos Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,205 shares during the quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 2.7% during the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.5% during the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $103.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $77.01 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.