1832 Asset Management L.P. Has $3.37 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 22.1% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to over $3.37 million.
• Aflac recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.78, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.07, despite a decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share and approved a share buyback program allowing the repurchase of 100 million shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 22.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 90.8% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AFL. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $108.3520 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $103.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.85. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $57.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's payout ratio is 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.

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