WASHINGTON TRUST Co Acquires 1,305 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Aflac were worth $616,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in Aflac by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 3,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 2.5% in the second quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $114.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $109.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.91. The company has a market cap of $60.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.45.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.29%.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AFL. UBS Group dropped their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $104.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,450. This represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total transaction of $114,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,692,110. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Company 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.