Axa S.A. Boosts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Axa S.A. increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 157,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,924 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $14,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 29.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 18,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,649,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 7.9% in the second quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Aflac by 58.0% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 104,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,351,000 after purchasing an additional 38,420 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Aflac by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 21,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Aflac by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 87,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,832,000 after buying an additional 4,615 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.36.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $110.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $74.89 and a 52 week high of $111.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $104.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.