Synovus Financial Corp Lowers Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Synovus Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,194,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 113,696 shares during the period. Aflac comprises about 1.5% of Synovus Financial Corp's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Synovus Financial Corp owned about 0.22% of Aflac worth $133,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac to $107.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.73.

Aflac Trading Up 0.2 %

Aflac stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $104.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,069,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,202,533. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $58.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Aflac Company 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.