Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Purchases 753 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Aflac by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $107.82 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $108.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.37. The company has a market cap of $57.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

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

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $110.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

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.