Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.
Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Aflac by 79.7% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $979,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $134,395,000 after acquiring an additional 45,745 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $250,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages recently issued reports on AFL. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Aflac
Insider Transactions at Aflac
In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.
Aflac Price Performance
AFL stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $103.46. 1,450,313 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,719,400. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $78.38 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Aflac Increases Dividend
The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.83%.
About Aflac
(
Free Report)
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.
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