4,035 Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Purchased by Ames National Corp

Ames National Corp purchased a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $417,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,310,640,000 after acquiring an additional 653,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,465,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,286,042,000 after purchasing an additional 288,482 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $754,700,000 after buying an additional 1,357,753 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,250,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $543,154,000 after purchasing an additional 556,394 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $349,699,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $105.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.48. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $86.46 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,149.60. The trade was a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,552 shares of company stock valued at $3,702,552. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.