NewEdge Wealth LLC Purchases 7,271 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 156.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,271 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Triton Financial Group Inc boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Triton Financial Group Inc now owns 17,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,939,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 81,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,992,000 after buying an additional 1,868 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 122,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,510,000 after buying an additional 5,916 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 25,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,815,000 after buying an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its position in shares of Aflac by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 3,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE AFL opened at $115.39 on Thursday. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $119.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $111.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.15. The company has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aflac from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 597,575 shares of company stock worth $66,378,581 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.