Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 776,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 333,083 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Aflac worth $88,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered 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. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.73.

Aflac Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $0.69 during trading on Monday, reaching $103.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,386,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,207,726. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $110.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $57.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

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.