Blue Trust Inc. Has $2.16 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,526 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Aflac Stock Down 0.4 %

AFL stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $114.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,996,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,239,971. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $109.40 and a 200 day moving average of $95.98.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AFL. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research 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 MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.53.

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.