Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,917 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up approximately 0.8% of Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6%

AFL stock opened at $102.08 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $87.68 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.37.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 21.27%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 26,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,786,791.84. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 70,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. This represents a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.