Sound Income Strategies LLC Buys 1,484 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 79.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 80.0% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AFL. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.08.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of AFL traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $101.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,628,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,241,897. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $91.92 and its 200-day moving average is $86.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $104.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.