Valtrion Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Valtrion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 8,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $950,000. Aflac makes up 0.7% of Valtrion Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth $4,093,787,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,550,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,216,000 after buying an additional 67,650 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $420,078,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $404,639,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Aflac by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,268,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,555,000 after acquiring an additional 603,426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $116.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.21. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $104.66 and a 12 month high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $122.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two 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 company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.62.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 494,225 shares of company stock worth $57,960,715 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.