ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Has $411,000 Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AFL shares. StockNews.com raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.31.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.21. 2,938,536 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,533,085. The stock has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $64.10 and a one year high of $86.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.14 and a 200-day moving average of $81.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. 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 2.40%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 22.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Albert Riggieri sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.34, for a total value of $666,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,735,635.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.