Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. West Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $220,000. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 3,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 459.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 108,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,088,000 after acquiring an additional 88,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $108.25 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.00.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $107.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Aflac from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.67.

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.