IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Aflac were worth $711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ARP Americas LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $307,000. Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in Aflac by 20.7% in the second quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 137,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,680,000 after buying an additional 23,619 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 0.3% in the second quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 361,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,111,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Telemus Capital LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 13.0% in the second quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 16,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its stake in Aflac by 26.3% in the second quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 56,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,378,000 after buying an additional 11,725 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.59% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE AFL) opened at 81.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.83 and a 200 day moving average of $74.71. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.50 and a 12 month high of $81.80. The company has a market capitalization of $32.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.99.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.20. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.09% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $5.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post $6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 23rd will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is 25.94%.
Aflac announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 8th that allows the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AFL. Barclays PLC lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. ValuEngine upgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. BidaskClub lowered shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. FBR & Co restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sell” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.50.
In related news, Director Karole Lloyd bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.01 per share, with a total value of $77,010.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,553.53. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Kriss Cloninger III sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 253,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,524,067.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 240,203 shares of company stock worth $18,612,224 in the last three months. 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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