UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 281,148 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,694,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 281,148 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $524,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $114.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $111.11 and its 200 day moving average is $101.23. 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 firm 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. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $75.07 and a one year high of $115.50.

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 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 40.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AFL. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus 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.