Integrated Investment Consultants LLC Grows Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 71.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,375 shares during the quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $4,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $106.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,080,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,698,974. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company's 50 day moving average price is $106.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.36. The firm has a market cap of $59.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is a boost from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

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 stock was 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 directly 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 SEC, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler raised 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.07.

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.