Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,235 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $2,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Aflac by 64.4% during 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Aflac by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 241,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,986,000 after purchasing an additional 18,028 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac 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 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 trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total value of $106,790.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,096 shares in the company, valued at $2,786,791.84. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,295. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $103.22 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $88.00 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $55.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.81. The business's 50 day moving average is $104.03 and its 200 day moving average is $105.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.93.

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.

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