ING Groep NV Sells 38,553 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

ING Groep NV trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 60.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,403 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 38,553 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Aflac were worth $2,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $45,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 116.7% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $111.32 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $110.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.59. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.93.

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.