Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $105.62 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,001,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,558 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $105,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $140,746,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $60,954,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 146.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 772,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,422,000 after buying an additional 458,551 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 133.2% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 758,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,329,000 after buying an additional 433,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,372,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,187,000 after buying an additional 385,546 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $114.06 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $108.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.73. The firm has a market cap of $61.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.29%.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $104.00 price target (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.50.

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.