Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 47.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 548 shares during the quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 121.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.45.

Aflac Trading Up 1.0%

AFL opened at $108.77 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.43.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% 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.