Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Holdings Reduced by Liberty Capital Management Inc.

Liberty Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 588 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for 2.0% of Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $9,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 178.6% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $112.16 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $109.84 and its 200-day moving average is $96.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $63.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Aflac Company 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.