Decker Retirement Planning Inc. Makes New Investment in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $137,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.07.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $105.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.12. The stock has a market cap of $58.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

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.