Vise Technologies Inc. Buys 15,917 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 113.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,917 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Aflac by 95.6% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.19, for a total transaction of $1,877,597.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,248,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,903,341,784.65. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.81, for a total value of $648,897.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,775,663.97. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 925,446 shares of company stock valued at $104,939,409. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.27.

Aflac Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $118.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.80.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

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.