Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 500 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.71.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

AFL stock opened at $107.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.69 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $105.23 and its 200-day moving average is $106.74.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% 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.