Aflac Incorporated $AFL Position Increased by Savvy Advisors Inc.

Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth about $551,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in Aflac by 4.8% in the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 140,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth about $2,626,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $107.19 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $57.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $108.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid 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 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.90.

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.