Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $197,820,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 7,001.0% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 667,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 658,303 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,588,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 196.5% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 484,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,945,000 after purchasing an additional 320,867 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Aflac by 161.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 311,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,723,000 after purchasing an additional 191,975 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.5 %

AFL stock opened at $109.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.25. The company has a market capitalization of $61.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $74.89 and a twelve month high of $111.14.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup increased 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. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Aflac from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.50.

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.