Banque Pictet & Cie SA Increases Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Aflac were worth $11,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Aflac by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,206,000 after acquiring an additional 29,602 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $998,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.1% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 50,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $250,000. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 12.9% during the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 47,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,344,000 after buying an additional 5,459 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $104.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $78.20 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $104.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AFL. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.