9,477 Shares in Aflac Incorporated $AFL Bought by Ibex Wealth Advisors

Key Points

• Ibex Wealth Advisors opened a new position in Aflac, buying 9,477 shares in the first quarter worth about $1.04 million.
• Insider activity was notable, with major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan selling 63,000 shares in a pre-arranged transaction for about $7.44 million.
• Aflac’s stock traded near its 52-week high after a modest gain, while analysts’ views remain mixed with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.64.

Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,040,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Aflac by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This trade represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $112.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.64.

Aflac Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:AFL opened at $121.88 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $122.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $116.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.61.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Aflac Profile

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.

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