Edge Capital Group LLC Purchases Shares of 7,668 Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Edge Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $685,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $347,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 530,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,803,000 after purchasing an additional 39,846 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 100,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,252,000 after purchasing an additional 12,190 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $107.92 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.03. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $74.89 and a 52 week high of $111.14. The stock has a market cap of $61.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.50.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.