Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Acquired by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 860,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,701 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.15% of Aflac worth $89,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 2,433 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 26,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,766,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 249,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,848,000 after acquiring an additional 4,558 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Aflac by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,102,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $114,017,000 after purchasing an additional 58,034 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,277,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AFL. StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $111.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.21.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.52. 949,115 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,102,375. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $85.50 and a one year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $107.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.56.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,411,877. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Aflac

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.