Southern Capital Advisors LLC Buys 15,452 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Southern Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 90.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,452 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for 1.9% of Southern Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Southern Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 29.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,649,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 32.4% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,099,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $552,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 105,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,378,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $108.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $105.61 and a 200 day moving average of $106.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $60.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors 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 yield of 2.14%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.67.

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.