Physicians Financial Services Inc. Sells 200 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $50,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 116.7% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6 %

AFL stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $108.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 74,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,230,931. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.42 and its 200-day moving average is $98.32. The company has a market cap of $60.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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 target price 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.