Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Position Increased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,440 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $24,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $112.39 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $110.73 and a 200-day moving average of $100.66. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.93.

About Aflac

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.