Sigma Planning Corp Raises Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 626 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Callan Capital LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $809,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Aflac by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC now owns 7,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 58,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $102.04 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $78.62 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.