Swedbank AB Sells 1,970 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Swedbank AB decreased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 313,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,970 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Aflac were worth $35,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Aflac by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $253,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 18,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 12.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 24.6% in the first quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 4,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Aflac Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $114.38 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $64.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.49.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its 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 net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.