Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 30.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,503 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $13,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $1.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.51. 2,267,976 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,115,852. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $88.00 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $104.76 and a 200 day moving average of $105.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $55.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's payout ratio is 36.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.80% 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.