GSB Wealth Management LLC Sells 208 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

GSB Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 208 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up 1.0% of GSB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. GSB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 10,878.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,597,000 after buying an additional 554,803 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Aflac by 471.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,080,000 after acquiring an additional 495,000 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Aflac by 670.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Aflac by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,338,000 after acquiring an additional 405,847 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,290,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $104.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.67.

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.