Webster Bank N. A. Boosts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $197,820,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Aflac during the first quarter valued at $27,588,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Aflac by 196.5% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 484,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,945,000 after buying an additional 320,867 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Aflac by 161.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 311,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,723,000 after purchasing an additional 191,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,546,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.08.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock traded up $0.35 on Friday, hitting $101.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,628,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,241,897. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $57.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $104.90.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

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.