Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,147 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $4,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $106.43. 2,080,419 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,699,365. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.13. The firm has a market cap of $59.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac's quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac 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.