Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by Invesco LLC

Invesco LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Aflac makes up 1.1% of Invesco LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Invesco LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.67.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.41. 77,076 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,576,794. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $60.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.25. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. This is a positive change 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 30.12%.

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.