LPL Financial LLC Purchases 60,762 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 963,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,762 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $107,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Aflac by 24.6% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 4,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Aflac by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Aflac by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 10,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after buying an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 5.4% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 233,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,062,000 after buying an additional 11,996 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $112.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $110.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.44. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.