Creekmur Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10,946.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,692 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.34. 4,508,601 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,197,640. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.47. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $96.23.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.46.

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.