Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $337.45 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,021,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 121,159 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.56% of Aflac worth $337,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Aflac by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 510,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,824,000 after buying an additional 189,765 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total value of $114,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 23,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,692,110. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AFL. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $104.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.64.

Aflac Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:AFL opened at $110.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $109.74 and its 200-day moving average is $108.14. The firm has a market cap of $57.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.67. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.83.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.29%.

About Aflac

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.