Tidal Investments LLC Raises Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,317 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 80.0% during the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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 three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.08.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:AFL traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $101.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 244,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,220,628. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $57.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.58. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $72.78 and a twelve month high of $104.90.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Aflac’s dividend 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.