Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Raises Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 42.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,491 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AFL. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.86.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $102.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $78.62 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Aflac 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.