iA Global Asset Management Inc. Takes $2.63 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 23,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,628,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 95.6% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Aflac from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.36.

Aflac Trading Up 1.5%

Aflac stock opened at $118.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $111.89 and its 200 day moving average is $111.37.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.73, for a total transaction of $68,238.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,885,102.64. This trade represents a 2.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.55, for a total value of $268,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,186 shares in the company, valued at $720,978.30. The trade was a 27.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 674,615 shares of company stock valued at $75,311,551 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.