Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases 7,341 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,341 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $6,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 valued at $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 79.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $979,000. FMR LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $250,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $104.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,647,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,821,115. 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 company has a market capitalization of $57.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $78.20 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $104.33 and its 200-day moving average is $107.05.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is an increase from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.