Versor Investments LP Takes $545,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $545,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $192,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its stake in Aflac by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 218,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,571,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in Aflac by 149.3% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 9,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 5,407 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value 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 approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $109.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $60.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $104.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.56. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $78.62 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.36.

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.