Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Purchases 1,518 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $103.46 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $104.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.02. The company has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $78.38 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.