MetLife Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,901 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $14,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.93.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $114.10 on Thursday. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $75.07 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $63.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.14.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during 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%. Aflac’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Aflac Company 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.