Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Purchased by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,878 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $10,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 0.8% in the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.64.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $110.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $109.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.20. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.83. The firm has a market cap of $58.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.67.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 59.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. 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 given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,837,056. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total transaction of $89,407.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,824,298.75. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have 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.

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.