Aquatic Capital Management LLC Has $5.22 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,774 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $5,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 10,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,084,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 64,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $20,913,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 397.7% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,585 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. The trade was a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total transaction of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $108.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,712,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,116,582. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $80.59 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.93.

Aflac 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.