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

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 954 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $16,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $101.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $56.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 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 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. 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 is presently 34.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.29.

Aflac 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.