Global Assets Advisory LLC Acquires Shares of 17,605 Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 17,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,512,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $89.18 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $67.12 and a twelve month high of $91.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.71.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.38.

About Aflac

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.