Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock Holdings Raised by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.07.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $106.43 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $106.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.13. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. 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 market cap of $59.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was 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 owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.