Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 25,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 5,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.69.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $89.10 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.94. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $69.00 and a 52-week high of $91.15. The firm has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.80% 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.