Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by Global X Japan Co. Ltd.

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during 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 period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 3.9 %

Aflac stock opened at $103.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $57.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $105.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.74. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $77.01 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. 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 yield of 2.25%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.71.

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.