Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. Invests $1 Million in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 161.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,664,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,846,000 after purchasing an additional 32,907 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total transaction of $1,441,599.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $124.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.11. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $125.93. The company has a market capitalization of $63.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 27.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.17.

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.