Symmetry Investments LP Grows Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Symmetry Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 147.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,860 shares during the quarter. Symmetry Investments LP’s holdings in Aflac were worth $729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 25,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,115,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $484,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Aflac by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,835,000 after purchasing an additional 4,257 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $347,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 530,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,803,000 after buying an additional 39,846 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 0.0 %

AFL opened at $107.89 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $102.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $74.89 and a 12 month high of $111.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AFL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.