M&G Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

M&G PLC lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,013 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $2,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,807,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $429,319,000 after acquiring an additional 285,576 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,429,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $202,437,000 after purchasing an additional 31,752 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,276,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $254,382,000 after purchasing an additional 83,289 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,220,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $198,279,000 after purchasing an additional 117,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Aflac by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,929,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $172,338,000 after buying an additional 405,847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $108.27. 1,727,329 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,111,763. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.56. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $75.07 and a twelve month high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $60.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.96.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three research 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 MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.93.

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.