Balentine LLC Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Balentine LLC acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth $25,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 116.7% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $105.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $59.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $110.42 and its 200 day moving average is $98.25. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $75.07 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AFL. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.