Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $105.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $58.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $78.62 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.46.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. This is an increase 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 presently 24.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.86.

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.