1,875 Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Bought by Bath Savings Trust Co

Bath Savings Trust Co acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 80.0% in the first quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $112.47 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $106.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.19. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $75.07 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays initiated coverage on Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.43.

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.