Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 79.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,131 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.93.

Aflac Stock Down 0.2 %

AFL stock opened at $110.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.14. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $61.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.