Grimes & Company Inc. Acquires 108 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $104.82 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $58.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $105.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.