BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Has $65.39 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. decreased its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 584,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,534 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $65,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $112.09 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $110.66 and its 200-day moving average is $100.24. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.47. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 22.02%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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 objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.93.

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.