6,458 Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Acquired by Harfst & Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Harfst & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac by purchasing 6,458 shares valued at approximately $718,000 in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Aflac, with Northern Trust Corp growing its stake by 22.9% to own over 7.29 million shares worth $754.7 million.
• Aflac recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share and initiated a stock buyback program allowing for the repurchase of up to 100 million shares.

Harfst & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 121.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price objective (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 70,992 shares in the company, valued at $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $105.35. 2,645,887 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,582,534. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.83.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Company Profile

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.