Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 116,341 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 75.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 269,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 116,341 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Aflac were worth $30,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter worth $38,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on 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 price target on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. 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 research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.73.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $104.41. 1,789,390 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,207,506. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.60. The company has a market cap of $58.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.94%.

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.