Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 259.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Aflac were worth $260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.08.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded down $2.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,193,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,233,797. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $90.55 and its 200 day moving average is $85.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $72.78 and a twelve month high of $104.90.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.82% and a net margin of 28.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 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.