Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Acquires 19,608 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 146.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,608 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $103.62 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $104.66 and a 200-day moving average of $106.87. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $77.01 and a one year high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.58 dividend. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.