Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Acquired by Lewis Asset Management LLC

Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:AFL opened at $107.76 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.25. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $59.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 34.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AFL. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.67.

Aflac Profile

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.