M3 Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

M3 Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 13,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,489,000. Aflac makes up approximately 1.2% of M3 Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $280,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,854,000 after buying an additional 15,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $116.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $59.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.78. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 844,428 shares of company stock worth $95,391,275. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Aflac

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.