Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich Buys 222 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 10,878.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,597,000 after buying an additional 554,803 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,080,000 after purchasing an additional 495,000 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 670.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,572,000 after purchasing an additional 484,378 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $42,290,000. Finally, 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 worth $88,533,000 after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this link. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $103.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $57.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.02. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $77.01 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AFL. Truist Financial increased their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.21.

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.