Czech National Bank Grows Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,731 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Aflac were worth $11,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.29.

Aflac Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of AFL opened at $102.52 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.02. The company has a market capitalization of $56.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 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 company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change 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%.

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.