Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. Invests $211,000 in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 25,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,115,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $197,820,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 64,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,313,000 after buying an additional 2,357 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $110.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $74.89 and a 12-month high of $111.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $101.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.50.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% 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.