TradeLink Capital LLC Makes New $232,000 Investment in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

TradeLink Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smith Moore & CO. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 6,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Aflac by 79.9% during the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 625,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,007,000 after acquiring an additional 277,957 shares during the last quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 5,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 77,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,213,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 114,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,105,000 after purchasing an additional 4,517 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,450. This represents a 55.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 22,822 shares of company stock worth $2,571,002 in the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $110.31 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.83. The firm has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

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.