Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) is Vest Financial LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 882,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 55,863 shares during the period. Aflac comprises approximately 1.5% of Vest Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Aflac worth $98,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $163,409,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 12,313.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,504,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $167,237,000 after buying an additional 1,491,951 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Aflac by 22.9% during the 4th 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. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Aflac by 81.1% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $1.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $103.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,035,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,109,775. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $86.46 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.92.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Aflac had a return on equity of 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James dropped their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.93.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,552 shares of company stock worth $7,501,752. 0.90% of the stock is 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.