Advisory Resource Group Increases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Advisory Resource Group raised its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,056 shares during the period. Advisory Resource Group’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Aflac by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,206,000 after buying an additional 29,602 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in shares of Aflac by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

AFL opened at $103.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.78. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $77.01 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $57.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 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 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.21.

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.