Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stake Raised by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $3,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 826,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $85,477,000 after purchasing an additional 54,973 shares during the period. Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 350,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,284,000 after purchasing an additional 8,092 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 41,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,279,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Aflac by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 4,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 59,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,187,000 after purchasing an additional 4,658 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE AFL traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, hitting $102.98. 1,811,961 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,827,316. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $77.01 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.07.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 20.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.00.

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.