Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC Sells 3,546 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 52.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,546 shares during the period. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.21.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $103.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $77.01 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.87.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

About Aflac

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.