Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 32,642 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 324,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 32,642 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.06% of Aflac worth $36,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in Aflac by 59.2% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 510,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,824,000 after buying an additional 189,765 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Aflac by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total transaction of $89,407.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,824,298.75. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,766 shares of company stock valued at $3,549,706. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.64.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $110.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.14.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.72. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 59.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.61 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.29%.

Aflac Company Profile

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.