Swedbank AB Lowers Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Swedbank AB lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 313,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,970 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.06% of Aflac worth $35,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $113.20 on Tuesday. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.85. The company has a market cap of $62.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.