Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 value of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $89.31. 3,455,193 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,288,406. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $87.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.82. The company has a market capitalization of $50.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $68.34 and a fifty-two week high of $91.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.