Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Purchases 56,097 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 644,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 56,097 shares during the period. Aflac makes up 8.3% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $70,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Quarry LP bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AFL. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. The trade was a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 997,071 shares of company stock valued at $115,529,904 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $120.45 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.90. The company has a market capitalization of $61.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $121.53.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.