BXM Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 3,472 Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

BXM Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,472 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 79.7% in 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 period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $979,000. FMR LLC increased its stake 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, Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $104.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,579,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,796,172. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $78.38 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $104.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.30.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 6.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This is a positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.86.

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.