CWA Asset Management Group LLC Makes New Investment in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $810,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 222,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Aflac by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 643,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $71,964,000 after acquiring an additional 3,244 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen started coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three equities research 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.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.93.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $2.40 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $110.67. 743,872 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,231,691. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50-day moving average price is $110.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.76.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Aflac Company 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.