Dividend Assets Capital LLC Acquires 200 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Dividend Assets Capital LLC boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Dividend Assets Capital LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $102.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $104.11 and its 200 day moving average is $107.29. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $78.62 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.