Aflac Incorporated $AFL Holdings Lifted by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,252 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $4,093,787,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $609,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,091 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,216,000 after purchasing an additional 67,650 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $404,639,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Aflac by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,555,000 after purchasing an additional 603,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $13,466,311.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 50,134,329 shares in the company, valued at $5,942,422,016.37. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 700,062 shares of company stock worth $81,675,348 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $127.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $105.76 and a 12-month high of $131.18. The company has a market capitalization of $62.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $118.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.48.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 35.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Aflac from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $101.00 price objective (up from $99.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Aflac from $119.00 to $123.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.53.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance to individuals and businesses. Its products are designed to help customers manage expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, cancer, critical illness and hospital stays. The company operates primarily in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac offers workplace benefits such as accident, disability, dental, vision and life insurance. In Japan, it provides products including cancer, medical and life insurance.