Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 15.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,654 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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 a consensus price target of $97.93.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $112.04 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $62.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.12%.

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.