National Pension Service Grows Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

National Pension Service grew its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,662,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 136,238 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.29% of Aflac worth $185,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 7,001.0% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 667,706 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 658,303 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10,878.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 559,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,597,000 after buying an additional 554,803 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth $27,588,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 worth $429,319,000 after acquiring an additional 285,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.0 %

Aflac stock traded up $1.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,350,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,239,864. The stock's fifty day moving average is $110.46 and its 200 day moving average is $98.09. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.05 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.