FourThought Financial Partners LLC Takes $558,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 5,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $106.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.47. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $78.62 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 24.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AFL shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.86.

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.