Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Holdings Decreased by Auxier Asset Management

Auxier Asset Management lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for 2.0% of Auxier Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Aflac were worth $13,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Aflac by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,807,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,319,000 after purchasing an additional 285,576 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 6.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,846,000 after acquiring an additional 281,148 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in Aflac by 1.3% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,429,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $202,437,000 after acquiring an additional 31,752 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its position in Aflac by 3.8% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,276,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $254,382,000 after acquiring an additional 83,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,220,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,279,000 after acquiring an additional 117,504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $114.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.23. The stock has a market cap of $63.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.