Fisher Funds Management LTD Takes $10.30 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 99,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,295,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.3% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,206,000 after buying an additional 29,602 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 46,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,146,000 after acquiring an additional 19,037 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Aflac by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 10,878.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,597,000 after purchasing an additional 554,803 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 11.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 72,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,072,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $102.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.35. The company has a market capitalization of $56.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $78.62 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 24.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

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.