Atlas Wealth LLC Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,802,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $124.79 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.71. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $125.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $63.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.50.

About Aflac

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.