Providence First Trust Co Purchases Shares of 6,238 Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 6,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $645,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $109.46 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $78.62 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $60.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $104.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.52.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. 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 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AFL. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.36.

Insider Activity

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 value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.