HB Wealth Management LLC Increases Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 65,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $106.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $106.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.07.

About Aflac

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.