New Century Financial Group LLC Has $469,000 Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.6% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copperwynd Financial LLC raised its position in Aflac by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 3,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $114.50 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $109.40 and its 200-day moving average is $95.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.53.

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.