Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Position Increased by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth $33,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.31.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,938,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,533,085. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $64.10 and a 12 month high of $86.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.87.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.41 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, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

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.