Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Grows Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFLFree Report) by 51.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,098 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Aflac by 95.6% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $117.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $119.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFLGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.70%.

Key Stories Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 1,740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.57, for a total transaction of $202,831.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,540,938.83. This trade represents a 11.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Miwako Hosoda sold 243 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.50, for a total value of $27,823.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $886,573.50. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 739,815 shares of company stock valued at $82,996,891. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $99.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.36.

View Our Latest Analysis on AFL

Aflac Company Profile

(Free Report)

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Aflac (NYSE:AFL)

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