Pensionfund DSM Netherlands held its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock at the end of the second quarter. Pensionfund DSM Netherlands’ holdings in Aflac were worth $3,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 7.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at $128,000. Bollard Group LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 0.3% in the first quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 64.1% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.64% of the company’s stock.
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) opened at 80.75 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.50 and a 12 month high of $81.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.72 and a 200-day moving average of $74.57. The company has a market cap of $31.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.99.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.20. Aflac had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 13.09%. The firm had revenue of $5.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post $6.67 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 23rd will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 21st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 25.94%.
Aflac declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 8th that authorizes the company to buyback 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Barclays PLC increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Bank of America Corporation raised shares of Aflac from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $75.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $66.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.50.
In other news, President Kriss Cloninger III sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.06, for a total value of $283,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 253,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,524,067.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karole Lloyd bought 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.01 per share, with a total value of $77,010.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,253 shares in the company, valued at $558,553.53. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 240,203 shares of company stock valued at $18,612,224. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.
About Aflac
Aflac Incorporated is a business holding company. The Company is involved in supplemental health and life insurance, which is marketed and administered through its subsidiary, American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus (Aflac). The Company’s insurance business consists of two segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S.
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