Berman McAleer LLC Invests $1.58 Million in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Berman McAleer LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,579,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 11.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 93,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,856,000 after acquiring an additional 9,907 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Aflac by 3.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,662,000 after purchasing an additional 65,308 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,146,000 after purchasing an additional 13,017 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,117,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 140,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,857,000 after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $104.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,837,056. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total value of $89,407.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,824,298.75. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $110.94 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $109.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.67.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.72. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 59.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.29%.

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.