Principal Securities Inc. Acquires 407 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $318,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $948,000. BXM Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $359,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in Aflac by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 37,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,863,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was 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 owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AFL. Truist Financial raised their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $104.24 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $78.38 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $57.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 20.83%.

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.