Abbot Financial Management Inc. Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Abbot Financial Management acquired 13,285 Aflac shares worth approximately $1.56 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 67.44% of Aflac.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $117.58; recent targets range from $110 to $138.
• Aflac reported quarterly revenue of $4.22 billion, ahead of estimates, but earnings of $1.75 per share narrowly missed expectations. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield.

Abbot Financial Management Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,558,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,710 shares in the company, valued at $4,059,311. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 578,333 shares of company stock worth $67,710,836 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AFL. Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $138.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.58.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $121.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $121.36 and a 200 day moving average of $115.86. The firm has a market cap of $60.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $104.66 and a one year high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

About Aflac

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source