Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Has $28.73 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 277,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,662 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for approximately 1.9% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $28,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 79.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $979,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $250,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.29.

Aflac Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $3.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $100.55. 470,023 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,399,940. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $106.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.64. 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 one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 34.94%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.