Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Stake Reduced by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,301 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Aflac were worth $3,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Spinnaker Trust boosted its holdings in Aflac by 2.7% during the third quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 0.6% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.7 %

AFL stock opened at $113.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $62.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $75.07 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on AFL shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.93.

Aflac 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.