Cerity Partners LLC Buys 30,906 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 253,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,906 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $28,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.3% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 16,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,799,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 39,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,374,000 after purchasing an additional 6,443 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 4,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Aflac by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 16,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 3,304 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,837,056. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $601,538.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,368 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,447.04. This represents a 12.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,766 shares of company stock worth $3,549,706. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.67.

Aflac Trading Up 0.0%

AFL stock opened at $110.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $110.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.85%.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.