Cerity Partners LLC Buys 30,906 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 253,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,906 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $28,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 5.1% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Aflac by 3.4% in the second quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.7% during the second quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 6,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 2.5% during the second quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total value of $89,407.50. Following the sale, the director owned 24,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,824,298.75. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,837,056. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $110.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $110.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.60. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 23.55%.The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 31.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AFL shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.67.

About Aflac

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.