Empowered Funds LLC Increases Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,585 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,654 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $3,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spinnaker Trust boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,539,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 2.5% in the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AFL traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $111.12. 1,449,342 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,225,121. The business's 50-day moving average price is $110.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.09. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 EPS 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Aflac's payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.93.

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.