Zacks Investment Management Acquires New Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 18,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,104,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $105.00 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $110.91 and its 200 day moving average is $102.47. The company has a market capitalization of $58.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.97. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 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%. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Barclays began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.73.

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.