Clearstead Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 58.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,241 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Aflac by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Aflac from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.27.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 1,740 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.57, for a total transaction of $202,831.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,938.83. The trade was a 11.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,300 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.55, for a total value of $268,065.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $720,978.30. This represents a 27.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 881,036 shares of company stock worth $99,703,131. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 1.7%

Aflac stock opened at $114.81 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $112.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.79. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Aflac Company 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.