Guinness Asset Management LTD Has $254.38 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,276,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 83,289 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for approximately 4.8% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned about 0.40% of Aflac worth $254,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $681,000. LongView Wealth Management increased its position in Aflac by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 19,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 3,651 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth $203,000. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 42,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,762,000 after purchasing an additional 9,123 shares during the period. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL traded up $1.65 on Friday, reaching $113.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,478,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,249,163. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. Aflac’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 21.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.53.

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.