Kingdom Financial Group LLC. Invests $578,000 in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 5,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 69,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,647,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Plan A Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 6,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 3,411 shares during the period. Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 23,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,596,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AFL opened at $117.74 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.81. The business’s fifty day moving average is $112.32 and its 200-day moving average is $111.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $59.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.82.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 782,428 shares of company stock worth $88,097,875. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

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.