Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Purchased by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel grew its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 273,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,357 shares during the period. Aflac makes up about 1.9% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Aflac were worth $28,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Spinnaker Trust increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 2.5% in the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,018,701.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.71.

Aflac Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $107.31 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month 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 $59.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $105.50 and its 200-day moving average is $106.46.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.94%.

Aflac Company 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.