Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by Southern Capital Advisors LLC

Southern Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,763 shares during the period. Aflac comprises 2.2% of Southern Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Southern Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $4,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $349,699,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $163,409,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 12,313.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,504,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $167,237,000 after buying an additional 1,491,951 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Aflac by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $754,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,753 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Aflac by 81.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,753,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $285,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232,683 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the company'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 owns 6,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,295 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.93.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL traded down $1.65 on Wednesday, hitting $102.51. The company had a trading volume of 2,268,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,115,489. 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's fifty day moving average price is $104.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.20. The company has a market capitalization of $55.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.82. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $88.00 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 21.27%. The firm'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 year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

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.