Hartford Investment Management Co. Trims Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 487 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $102.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.07. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $77.01 and a one year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial raised 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. StockNews.com downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac 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.