Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Purchases New Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,117,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 411,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,943,000 after buying an additional 5,916 shares during the period. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter worth $204,000. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in Aflac by 66.8% during the third quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 5,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at $202,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total value of $114,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,615 shares in the company, valued at $2,692,110. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $601,538.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,447.04. This represents a 12.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.64.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $107.08 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $109.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.98. The company has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.72. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%.The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

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.