Yousif Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 161,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,665 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $16,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 79.7% in 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 buying an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $979,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $250,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, 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 this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $106.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $59.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.44 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.64.

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 issued a $0.58 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.71.

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.