Sigma Planning Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares in the company, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $102.04 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.41. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $78.62 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 24.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Aflac from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.86.

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.