Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Acquires 654 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 654 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,533,000 after acquiring an additional 333,083 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 79.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 12,131 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $979,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after buying an additional 45,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $107.39 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.15. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $59.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’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 owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.