SouthState Corp Cuts Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

SouthState Corp decreased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,217 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.8 %

AFL opened at $111.12 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $110.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $61.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. 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 research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.93.

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.