Invst LLC Makes New Investment in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Invst LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $902,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:AFL opened at $116.17 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $104.66 and a 12 month high of $130.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.21.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total transaction of $74,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,059,311. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $1,500,012.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 50,791,790 shares in the company, valued at $5,906,069,341.20. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 494,225 shares of company stock valued at $57,960,715. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $122.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.