Welch Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Welch Group LLC lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 367 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $9,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $50,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 178.6% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $110.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 148,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,209,586. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $110.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.95. The company has a market capitalization of $62.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AFL. Citigroup increased their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.53.

Aflac 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.