Karole Lloyd, a director at Aflac Inc (AFL), recently bought another 1,000 shares. The buy increased her stake by just under 3 percent, and came to a total cost of just over $55,000.
This marks the second buy from a company insider this year, following another director buy back in early June. However, company insiders, including directors and executives, have overall been large sellers of shares over the past 3 years.
While robust sellers of shares, company insiders still own over 9.1 percent of the company.
The insurance company has recently returned to a pre-Covid high, with a 56 percent rally in the past year. Earnings are up nearly 37 percent, although revenue growth has been flat. But the insurer is making a reasonable profit, even with low interest rates right now, with the most recent profit margin of 25 percent.
Action to take: This is a classic dividend growth play. Shares currently yield 2.4 percent, and the dividend was just raised by $0.10 annually. The stock has a low payout ratio, so there’s room for more growth in the years ahead.
In the shorter term, the stock is still in an uptrend, so traders may fare well with a call option trade. The November $57.50 calls, last going for about $1.55, could deliver high-double to low-triple digit profits in the months ahead before expiration.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.