World Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $594,000 Investment in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $594,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 7,001.0% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 667,706 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 658,303 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 10,878.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,597,000 after acquiring an additional 554,803 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Aflac by 471.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 600,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,080,000 after acquiring an additional 495,000 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Aflac by 26.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $172,338,000 after acquiring an additional 405,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Aflac by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,807,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $429,319,000 after acquiring an additional 285,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $102.75. 2,000,153 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,206,872. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. 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 $109.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during 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 last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.