Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Buys 212 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AFL. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $108.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $105.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. 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 is 30.12%.

Aflac 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.