Forsta AP Fonden Has $17.52 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 20.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,900 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Aflac were worth $17,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.0% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of AFL opened at $109.75 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $110.32 and its 200-day moving average is $96.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $62.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

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.