Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stock Position Raised by Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc

Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,377 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises 0.7% of Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,878,000. Beck Bode LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1.3% during the second quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 143,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,803,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 5.1% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $106.43 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.36.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.07.

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.