Blue Trust Inc. Increases Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 872.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 187,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 168,661 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $19,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 79.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after buying an additional 12,131 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $979,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel increased its holdings in Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,287,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $103.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.02. The company has a market cap of $57.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $78.38 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Aflac 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.