Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by AMG National Trust Bank

AMG National Trust Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,293 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $112.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $62.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.93.

Aflac 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.