Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Free Report) by 39.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,207 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in Aflac by 24.6% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Aflac by 9.2% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its position in Aflac by 18.5% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 10,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Aflac by 5.4% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 233,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,062,000 after buying an additional 11,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.93.
Aflac Stock Up 1.7 %
Shares of AFL opened at $112.09 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $110.66 and a 200-day moving average of $100.24.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Aflac Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.
About Aflac
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.
Recommended Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Aflac
- 3 Home Improvement Stocks that Can Upgrade Your Portfolio
- Why Palo Alto Networks’ Multi-Year Uptrend Is Far From Over
- The Risks of Owning Bonds
- 3 Rock-Solid Buying Opportunities in the Market Right Now
- Where to Find Earnings Call Transcripts
- TJX Companies Stock Poised to Hit a New High This Year
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AFL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Aflac Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Aflac and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.