Vise Technologies Inc. Has $990,000 Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 61.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $948,000. Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 273,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,287,000 after buying an additional 3,357 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 10.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $155,529,000 after buying an additional 127,911 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Finally, Apexium Financial LP lifted its stake in Aflac by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 3,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total transaction of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at $5,360,422.98. This trade represents a 37.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 70,992 shares in the company, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,552 shares of company stock valued at $7,609,382 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $101.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,745,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,114,074. The stock's 50-day moving average is $106.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $86.46 and a one year 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.57.

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.