Ethic Inc. Purchases 4,743 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,743 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $17,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,630,000. Atlas Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,802,000. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $2,546,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 137.4% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,796,000 after acquiring an additional 23,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Aflac by 135.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 142,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,599,000 after acquiring an additional 81,803 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Down 1.8%

AFL opened at $123.98 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $105.76 and a fifty-two week high of $131.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $117.49 and its 200 day moving average is $116.20.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $4.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 21.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.57%.

Trending Headlines about Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Aflac reported adjusted Q3 earnings of $2.43 per share, ahead of the roughly $1.80 analyst consensus. Stronger U.S. profits and lower expenses helped drive the beat; reports also noted a 490-basis-point decline in the U.S. claims ratio. Aflac Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong U.S. Profit Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, payable Dec. 1, continuing its long record of dividend growth and supporting its appeal to income investors. Aflac declares fourth-quarter dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Aflac expects Japan pretax margins of 35%–38% and is targeting reinsurance cession of 30% of its FSA reserves. The plan may help manage capital and risk, though its effect on future earnings remains a consideration. Aflac Japan margin and reinsurance plans
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also faced weaker Japan results, currency headwinds and portfolio losses. Aflac’s reported Q3 net profit fell, highlighting the gap between the adjusted earnings beat and bottom-line performance. Aflac Q3 profit falls

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 113,611 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $13,466,311.83. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,134,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,942,422,016.37. The trade was a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 713,662 shares of company stock valued at $83,323,978 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on Aflac from $116.00 to $107.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.20.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated is an insurance company that provides supplemental health and life insurance to individuals and businesses. Its products are designed to help customers manage expenses that may not be covered by major medical insurance, including costs associated with accidents, cancer, critical illness and hospital stays.

The company operates primarily in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., Aflac offers workplace benefits such as accident, disability, dental, vision and life insurance.