Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC Raises Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for 1.3% of Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 23,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,421,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 4,336 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc now owns 13,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,377 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 504.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 8,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 7,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,395,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,682,000 after acquiring an additional 118,720 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $106.43 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $106.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.47. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $59.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.07.

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.