Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 65,056 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 251,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,056 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $26,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $114.06 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $108.98 and its 200 day moving average is $105.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.43.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.29%.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AFL. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $104.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.50.

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.