IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Aflac were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Callan Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 163.5% in the 2nd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 25,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,723,000 after acquiring an additional 16,020 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 18,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 272.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 8,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 6,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:AFL opened at $110.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $58.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.45. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.44.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $102.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Company 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.