Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC Takes $894,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $894,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 10,878.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,597,000 after buying an additional 554,803 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in 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 worth $67,080,000 after buying an additional 495,000 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Aflac by 670.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 556,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,572,000 after buying an additional 484,378 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,290,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after buying an additional 333,083 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $104.24 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $78.38 and a one year high of $115.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.15 and a 200-day moving average of $107.30. The company has a market capitalization of $57.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.58 per share. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 20.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

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 directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.00.

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.