Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Purchased by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,961 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,800 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Aflac were worth $2,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.73.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL traded up $0.75 on Thursday, reaching $107.74. 1,897,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,213,192. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $111.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.97. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $75.07 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This is an increase from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Aflac 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.