Grove Bank & Trust Raises Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 59.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Aflac were worth $64,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd 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 period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.07.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

Aflac stock opened at $106.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

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.