Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 238.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 49,829 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $7,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $246,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,212,000. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $697,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Aflac by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 152,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,083,000 after purchasing an additional 5,178 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Aflac by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 333,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,336,000 after buying an additional 12,026 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $107.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,913,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,793. 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 $59.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.97. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $111.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.24.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac's payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, 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. Three equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.73.

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.