Avity Investment Management Inc. Decreases Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Avity Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 80.0% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.31. 3,455,193 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,288,406. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $68.34 and a 12-month high of $91.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.82. The firm has a market cap of $50.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

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.