Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys Shares of 11,096 Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,140,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AFL. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of 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. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.71.

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 value 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 approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $107.31 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.46. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.94%.

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.