PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 213,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 281 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $17,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Eudaimonia Partners LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 234.6% during the fourth quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC now owns 10,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 7,325 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $1,558,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Aflac by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 633,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,262,000 after purchasing an additional 44,875 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its position in Aflac by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 298,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,604,000 after purchasing an additional 100,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 86,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,096,000 after purchasing an additional 15,855 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of AFL opened at $87.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $66.58 and a one year high of $89.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.40.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 27.67%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 61,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total value of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,978 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,408. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AFL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.38.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.