LMG Wealth Partners LLC Purchases 113 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

LMG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 113 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises about 1.3% of LMG Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. LMG Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 79.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $948,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted 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 upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.86.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $104.53 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.28. 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 stock has a market cap of $58.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $78.38 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.83%.

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.