Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Raises Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Aflac by 41.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $104.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $78.60 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.26.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

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.