Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $35.33 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 312,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,407 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.06% of Aflac worth $35,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 93,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,856,000 after acquiring an additional 9,907 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Aflac by 3.8% during 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 period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Aflac by 31.0% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,146,000 after buying an additional 13,017 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Aflac by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 222,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,485,000 after buying an additional 28,190 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,652,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,273,000 after buying an additional 124,706 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,368 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,447.04. This trade represents a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at $153,450. The trade was a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.67.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $109.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $110.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.91. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.83. The company has a market capitalization of $57.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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 return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%.The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 59.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 31.85%.

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.