KBC Group NV Has $20.31 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 181,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,706 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Aflac were worth $20,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd boosted 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 116.7% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $111.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $110.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.29. The stock has a market cap of $61.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.96. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $75.07 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. UBS Group upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.93.

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.