Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Acquired by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 22.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 345,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 62,929 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.06% of Aflac worth $38,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in 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 during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of AFL stock traded down $2.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $105.00. 2,367,619 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,212,578. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.97. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $110.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $102.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Aflac's quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. 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 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.