Continuum Advisory LLC Boosts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Aflac by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of AFL opened at $104.23 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $110.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.47. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $57.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.97.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The business’s revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aflac to $107.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.73.

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.