Maridea Wealth Management LLC Invests $605,000 in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Key Points

• Maridea Wealth Management LLC has made a significant investment in Aflac Incorporated, purchasing 5,444 shares valued at approximately $605,000.
• Aflac reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.66, slightly missing analysts' expectations, and a considerable 37.5% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company recently announced a $0.58 quarterly dividend, equating to an annualized yield of 2.24% and a payout ratio of 36.25%.

Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 24.4% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% in the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Optas LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 3.5% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Family Legacy Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Titleist Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $99.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,043,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,138. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.81. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.11. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $94.87 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The business's revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. Analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AFL. UBS Group increased their target price on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.15.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total transaction of $106,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,791.84. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.90% of the stock is owned by 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.