Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 68.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $626,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 25,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $84.68 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $64.10 and a 12-month high of $86.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.31.

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.