Financial Enhancement Group LLC Acquires Shares of 6,626 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 6,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $741,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $551,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Aflac by 14.5% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 222,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,485,000 after purchasing an additional 28,190 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in Aflac by 4.8% in the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 140,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after purchasing an additional 594,971 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $104.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.55.

Aflac Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE AFL opened at $110.25 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $109.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total value of $89,407.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,824,298.75. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.