Howard Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 2.7% in the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 21,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $104.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $78.62 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.43.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.