Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.31.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total transaction of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the transaction, the director now owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,879,451.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Aflac stock traded up $0.55 on Thursday, reaching $85.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,279,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,286,704. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $48.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.01. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $64.10 and a 52-week high of $86.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

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.