Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Raises Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,471,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 21,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 6,491 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Aflac by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 90,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,378,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $104.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $78.38 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.30.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

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.