Swedbank AB Has $35.02 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Swedbank AB reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 313,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,970 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.06% of Aflac worth $35,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Aflac by 6.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,806,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,140,000 after buying an additional 113,226 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Aflac by 6.4% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 98,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,800,000 after buying an additional 5,912 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Aflac by 3.3% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 718,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,653,000 after buying an additional 22,637 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 13.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 708,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,810,000 after buying an additional 86,578 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth $2,535,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3 %

Aflac stock opened at $114.38 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $108.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a net margin of 28.35% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.