Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 139,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,850 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $11,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AFL. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.46.

Aflac Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE AFL opened at $89.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.82. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $68.34 and a 12 month high of $91.15. The company has a market capitalization of $50.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.86, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

About Aflac

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.