Asset Dedication LLC Increases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 107.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 32.4% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,099,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $552,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 8.2% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 105,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,378,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $108.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $105.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.26. The company has a market capitalization of $60.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen started coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.