Avanza Fonder AB Invests $4.22 Million in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 40,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,223,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Aflac by 41.8% during 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 last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AFL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.07.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $106.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.13. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $59.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.18%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Aflac

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.