Aflac Incorporated $AFL Stock Purchased by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,287 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 347.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.1% during the third quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 72,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,107,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the third quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 42,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,751,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 28.2% in the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:AFL opened at $118.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $59.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $116.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $105.43 and a 52-week high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.49, for a total value of $2,369,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,667,690 shares in the company, valued at $6,003,614,588.10. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 503,051 shares of company stock valued at $58,491,257 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $138.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $122.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.00.

Aflac News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AM Best affirmed Aflac’s credit ratings and those of its subsidiaries, reinforcing confidence in the insurer’s financial strength, claims-paying ability and balance sheet. This is supportive for a defensive insurance stock. AM Best Affirms Aflac Credit Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating on AFL while trimming its price target from $137 to $133. Although the target was reduced, it remains well above recent trading levels and suggests the analyst continues to see upside. Bank of America Cuts Aflac Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, Aflac’s major shareholder, sold another 12,000 shares for approximately $1.38 million on October 9 and 12,200 shares for approximately $1.41 million on October 12. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced its enormous position by only about 0.02% per sale, limiting the immediate fundamental impact. Japan Post Holdings Aflac Share Sales
• Negative Sentiment: The continued pattern of Japan Post share sales—including a 13,000-share sale on October 8—could weigh modestly on sentiment because it represents ongoing selling by a highly visible shareholder, even though the transactions appear scheduled rather than discretionary. Japan Post Holdings Sells Aflac Shares

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company’s products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.