Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Sells 5,834 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 21.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,834 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 93,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,856,000 after purchasing an additional 9,907 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Aflac by 3.8% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,662,000 after buying an additional 65,308 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Aflac by 31.0% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,146,000 after buying an additional 13,017 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Aflac by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 222,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,485,000 after buying an additional 28,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in Aflac by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 140,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,857,000 after acquiring an additional 6,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.67.

Aflac Stock Down 0.0%

AFL opened at $109.57 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.81. The stock has a market cap of $57.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.72. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. Aflac’s revenue was up 59.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 31.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total value of $89,407.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,824,298.75. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total value of $601,538.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,447.04. This trade represents a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.