Transform Wealth LLC Invests $252,000 in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Transform Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 2,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE AFL opened at $101.25 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.99 and a 200-day moving average of $105.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $86.46 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James cut their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.93.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 70,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,149.60. The trade was a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.