Next Level Wealth Planning LLC Buys New Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Next Level Wealth Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AFL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $103.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $78.38 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $104.18 and its 200 day moving average is $107.09. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 20.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.