Next Level Wealth Planning LLC Makes New $318,000 Investment in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Next Level Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 10,878.5% during 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 lifted its holdings in Aflac by 471.4% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 495,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 670.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,290,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE AFL traded up $0.54 on Wednesday, reaching $104.22. The company had a trading volume of 412,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,758,474. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.99. The company's fifty day moving average is $104.15 and its 200 day moving average is $107.30. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $78.38 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This is a positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average 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.