Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. Makes New $1 Million Investment in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Aflac by 161.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968,738 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Aflac by 390.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,588,000 after acquiring an additional 885,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $124.36 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $125.93. The stock has a market cap of $63.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $118.47 and a 200-day moving average of $114.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. The trade was a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $112.00 target price on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.17.

Aflac Company 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.