Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 333,083 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 776,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 333,083 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $88,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $104.52 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. 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 50-day simple moving average of $110.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.95. The company has a market capitalization of $58.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released 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 net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Barclays assumed coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.73.

Aflac Company 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.