Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Acquires 151,673 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2,210.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 151,673 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC grew its position in Aflac by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 6,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $189,000. Finally, NovaPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 49,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,127,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE AFL opened at $102.98 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $104.41 and its 200 day moving average is $107.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $77.01 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 20.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AFL. StockNews.com cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed 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. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.00.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.