Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Purchased by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,878 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $10,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $601,538.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,447.04. This trade represents a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total value of $89,407.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,829 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,298.75. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Trading Up 0.4%

AFL opened at $110.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $109.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.20. The firm has a market cap of $58.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.67.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.72. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AFL. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.64.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.