Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $6.15 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 31.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,017 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $551,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 2.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter worth $2,626,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $109.27 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.63 and a 200 day moving average of $107.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $57.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.67.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its 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 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is currently 30.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.67.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,450. This trade represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total value of $114,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,692,110. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.