QV Investors Inc. Has $1.12 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

QV Investors Inc. lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 49.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $432,201,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,545,000 after acquiring an additional 594,971 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,954,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Aflac by 459.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 701,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,969,000 after purchasing an additional 575,915 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 146.3% in the second quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 772,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,422,000 after purchasing an additional 458,551 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,837,056. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total transaction of $114,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,692,110. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $108.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $56.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $110.03 and its 200-day moving average is $107.92. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%.Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.64.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.