Raiffeisen Bank International AG Buys 2,083 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,227,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 88.7% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 4,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Aflac by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.00.

Aflac Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $111.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.83. The company has a market capitalization of $58.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $109.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.02.

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. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.29%.

Aflac declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 3,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.10, for a total value of $397,325.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,552,188.80. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,450. This represents a 55.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,174 shares of company stock valued at $705,050. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.