NorthRock Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 169.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,041 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $665,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.57.

Aflac Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE AFL traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $106.34. 1,689,942 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,111,649. The business's 50 day moving average is $107.00 and its 200-day moving average is $106.47. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $86.46 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.25%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,728 shares in the company, valued at $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,552 shares of company stock worth $3,702,552 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.