Blue Trust Inc. Increases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 459.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,783 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $12,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $104.82 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $58.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $105.88 and its 200 day moving average is $105.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

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.