Metis Global Partners LLC Has $4.31 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 41,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,174 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 79.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $979,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $948,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Aflac by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $109.46 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $78.62 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $104.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $60.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99.

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 predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, 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. 0.90% of the stock is owned by 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.