Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Boosts Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Aflac were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AFL. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Aflac by 13.3% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 252,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,206,000 after buying an additional 29,602 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 70.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 46,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,146,000 after acquiring an additional 19,037 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 3,876 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $327,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $102.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.29. The company has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $78.62 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total value of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.86.

About Aflac

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.