Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Acquires New Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,180,000. Aflac makes up approximately 1.0% of Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,806,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,140,000 after acquiring an additional 113,226 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Aflac by 6.4% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,800,000 after purchasing an additional 5,912 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 718,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,653,000 after buying an additional 22,637 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.9% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 708,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,810,000 after buying an additional 86,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $2,535,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $112.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $110.03 and a 200-day moving average of $96.48. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.