Norges Bank Takes $197.82 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,397,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $197,820,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $87.67 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $64.10 and a 1-year high of $88.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.60. The firm has a market cap of $49.82 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James upped their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares in the company, valued at $2,735,635.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 32,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,735,635.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,140,724. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.