Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,917 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises approximately 0.8% of Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in Aflac by 90.5% in the first quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 83,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,330,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 7.1% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 7,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Mayfair Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $212,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total value of $106,790.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,791.84. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $102.08 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $87.68 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $105.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.37.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.25%.

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.