Clearstead Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 58.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,241 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Aflac by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays set a $99.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aflac from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

Aflac Trading Down 1.7%

AFL opened at $114.81 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $112.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. 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 currently 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 881,036 shares of company stock valued at $99,703,131 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.