Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 4,658 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,658 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Aflac were worth $6,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in Aflac by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,206,000 after purchasing an additional 29,602 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Aflac by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Aflac by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Aflac by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.00.

Aflac Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:AFL traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $102.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,811,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,827,316. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $77.01 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $57.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50-day moving average price is $104.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.07.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.83%.

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.