Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Invests $1.13 Million in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,129,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $948,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $192,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $318,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Aflac by 2,210.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 158,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 151,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Aflac by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 38,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,935,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

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 sale, the director now owns 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,295 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL traded down $0.57 on Friday, reaching $102.06. The company had a trading volume of 2,259,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,112,624. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $55.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.82. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $86.46 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company's fifty day moving average is $105.04 and its 200 day moving average is $105.68.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.93.

Aflac 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.