Commerce Bank Trims Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Commerce Bank trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 657 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Aflac were worth $15,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter worth $25,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth $45,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth $52,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.93.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4 %

AFL stock opened at $110.24 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $110.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.16. 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 company has a market cap of $61.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

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.