EP Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 150.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,552 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spinnaker Trust increased its position in Aflac by 2.7% in the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 2.5% during the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded down $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $104.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,827,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,210,961. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $57.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.47.

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, 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 business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.