Forsta AP Fonden Raises Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 20.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 156,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,900 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Aflac were worth $17,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 19,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 8.3% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 9,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 139,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,992,000 after buying an additional 7,850 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $264,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $303,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AFL. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.53.

Aflac Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of AFL traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $109.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,136,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,219,544. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $110.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.95. The stock has a market cap of $62.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. The company 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%. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

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.