Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Free Report) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 9,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,014,000. Aflac accounts for approximately 1.2% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.
Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% during the third 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 bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.07.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.
Aflac Price Performance
NYSE AFL opened at $103.52 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $106.55 and its 200-day moving average is $105.12. 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 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $57.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Aflac Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.94%.
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.
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