Fmr LLC Has $134.40 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 45,745 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 0.22% of Aflac worth $134,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 79.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 12,131 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Aflac by 6.4% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,800,000 after buying an additional 5,912 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,535,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 1,273.4% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 10,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 9,805 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.73.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $106.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,379,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,541. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company's 50-day moving average is $111.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.97.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.94%.

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.