World Investment Advisors Buys 2,886 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,886 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Aflac were worth $1,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $192,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 11.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was 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 $2,786,791.84. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 sale, the director owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on 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 target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.07.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $101.56. 1,348,220 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,152,728. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $91.99 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $54.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $103.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.24.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Aflac had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 21.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The company's revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio 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.