Vise Technologies Inc. Purchases 3,640 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 61.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,640 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 21,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Family Legacy Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 2,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 6,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $711,149.60. This represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,733,048.59. This represents a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,552 shares of company stock worth $7,609,382 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $102.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $106.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.41. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $86.46 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for 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%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Aflac from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.57.

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.