Liberty Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for approximately 1.9% of Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 6.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,846,000 after purchasing an additional 281,148 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its position in Aflac by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,395,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,682,000 after buying an additional 118,720 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Aflac by 8.9% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,662,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,869,000 after buying an additional 136,238 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,584,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $177,153,000 after acquiring an additional 10,487 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 10.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,529,000 after acquiring an additional 127,911 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $103.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $77.01 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 20.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.21.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.