Cetera Investment Advisers Has $28.06 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 1.0%, acquiring an additional 2,475 shares, bringing their total holdings to $28 million as of the latest SEC disclosure.
• A number of research analysts have adjusted their ratings on Aflac, with Wall Street Zen lowering its rating from "hold" to "sell," while UBS raised its target price from $109 to $114.
• Aflac announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.24% and a payout ratio of 36.25%.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 252,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,475 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Aflac were worth $28,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Aflac by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 18,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $349,699,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 104,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,838,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,659,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock traded up $1.30 on Thursday, reaching $99.89. 656,913 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,112,246. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $94.87 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.11. The stock has a market cap of $54.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,295. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.