Aviva PLC Buys 16,982 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Aviva PLC raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 386,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,982 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.07% of Aflac worth $40,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Aflac by 3.4% in the second quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP grew its stake in Aflac by 3.4% during the first quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 3,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 2.5% during the second quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $114.06 on Monday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $59.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $108.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.71.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 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 for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.50.

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.