Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 96.0%, owning approximately 407,377 shares valued at $45.06 million as of the last quarter.
• Aflac's most recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.78, exceeding estimates, but revenue declined by 19.0% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share and authorized a share buyback plan for up to 100 million shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 96.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 407,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 199,583 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.08% of Aflac worth $45,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 3,318 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 203.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 290,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,041,000 after buying an additional 194,653 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 19,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,012,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Square LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth $205,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 1.7%

AFL traded up $1.7990 on Wednesday, reaching $108.1090. 1,347,642 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,165,074. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.81. The company has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac 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.