4,287 Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Acquired by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,287 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 347.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.1% during the third quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 72,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,107,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.8% in the third quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 42,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,751,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 28.2% in the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AFL. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $137.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.00.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.85, for a total value of $1,413,370.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 50,344,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,461,299. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 503,051 shares of company stock valued at $58,491,257. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of AFL opened at $118.09 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $105.43 and a 1 year high of $130.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.10. The stock has a market cap of $59.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.56.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%. The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Key Headlines Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AM Best affirmed Aflac’s credit ratings and those of its subsidiaries, reinforcing confidence in the insurer’s financial strength, claims-paying ability and balance sheet. This is supportive for a defensive insurance stock. AM Best Affirms Aflac Credit Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating on AFL while trimming its price target from $137 to $133. Although the target was reduced, it remains well above recent trading levels and suggests the analyst continues to see upside. Bank of America Cuts Aflac Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Japan Post Holdings, Aflac’s major shareholder, sold another 12,000 shares for approximately $1.38 million on October 9 and 12,200 shares for approximately $1.41 million on October 12. The transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced its enormous position by only about 0.02% per sale, limiting the immediate fundamental impact. Japan Post Holdings Aflac Share Sales
• Negative Sentiment: The continued pattern of Japan Post share sales—including a 13,000-share sale on October 8—could weigh modestly on sentiment because it represents ongoing selling by a highly visible shareholder, even though the transactions appear scheduled rather than discretionary. Japan Post Holdings Sells Aflac Shares

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance products to individuals, employers and groups. Its coverage is designed to help policyholders manage expenses that may not be fully covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with illness, injury and other qualifying events.

The company’s products include accident, cancer, critical illness, hospital indemnity, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. Aflac distributes its policies through workplace benefits programs, independent agents, brokers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus, Aflac has its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.