Wealthspire Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 247 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $104.08 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $104.11 and its 200 day moving average is $107.43. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $78.62 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 24.17%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.86.

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.