Raiffeisen Bank International AG Purchases 2,083 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 16.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,083 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,227,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 88.7% during the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 4,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 18.6% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 3,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.10, for a total value of $397,325.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $26,552,188.80. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,450. This represents a 55.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 6,174 shares of company stock worth $705,050 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $111.76 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $109.94 and its 200 day moving average is $106.02. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.83. The firm has a market cap of $58.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

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.