BluePath Capital Management LLC Has $6.38 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

BluePath Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 11.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 74,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,414 shares during the period. Aflac makes up approximately 4.8% of BluePath Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. BluePath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 25,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 5,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,342. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total transaction of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.69.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:AFL traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.10. 1,292,717 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,236,592. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.94. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $69.00 and a fifty-two week high of $91.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $50.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Aflac 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.