Barclays PLC Has $155.53 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 10.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,391,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 127,911 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.25% of Aflac worth $155,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 7,001.0% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 667,706 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 658,303 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted 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 worth $67,080,000 after purchasing an additional 495,000 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $172,338,000 after acquiring an additional 405,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $42,290,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $104.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,803,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,209,256. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.97.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.73.

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.