Carnegie Investment Counsel Buys 3,673 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 121.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,673 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Aflac were worth $693,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 10,878.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,597,000 after purchasing an additional 554,803 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Aflac by 471.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,080,000 after buying an additional 495,000 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 670.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,572,000 after buying an additional 484,378 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 26.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $172,338,000 after buying an additional 405,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,290,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL traded up $0.50 on Friday, hitting $106.43. 2,080,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,698,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $106.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.36.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

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 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 in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.07.

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.