Southern Capital Advisors LLC Has $3.37 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Southern Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 90.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,452 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for approximately 1.9% of Southern Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Southern Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position 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 last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $108.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $60.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $105.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

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.