3,529 Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Acquired by State of Wyoming

State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $163,409,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Aflac by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $754,700,000 after buying an additional 1,357,753 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Aflac by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,181,000 after buying an additional 1,232,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,340,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,310,640,000 after buying an additional 653,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $0.61 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.14. 291,392 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,982,426. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $86.46 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $106.64 and a 200-day moving average of $106.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Barclays boosted their price objective on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,552 shares of company stock valued at $7,609,382 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.