Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Acquires 3,274 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,274 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Aflac by 13.3% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,206,000 after acquiring an additional 29,602 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 70.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 46,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,146,000 after acquiring an additional 19,037 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 14.0% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Aflac by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related 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 transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 0.2 %

AFL opened at $104.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.26. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $78.60 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AFL. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.86.

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.