Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Aflac by 86.1% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 3,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in Aflac by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:AFL opened at $104.14 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $105.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.09. The stock has a market cap of $56.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $86.46 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company 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 16.20% and a net margin of 28.76%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 37.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.25%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,552 shares of company stock valued at $7,609,382 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.93.

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.