Ruggaard & Associates LLC Invests $932,000 in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Ruggaard & Associates LLC bought a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $932,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $116.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.60. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.21.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 502,125 shares of company stock worth $58,965,806. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, August 7th. 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 research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.62.

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.