Wealthspire Advisors LLC Acquires 247 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s 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 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $104.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.43. The firm has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $78.62 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders 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 represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.86.

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.