Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 530,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,846 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Aflac worth $43,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.38.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $87.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $64.10 and a 1 year high of $88.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.68.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total transaction of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares in the company, valued at $2,735,635.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,978 shares of company stock valued at $3,098,128 in the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Company 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.