Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. has cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 62.0%, selling 125,400 shares and retaining just 76,774 shares valued at approximately $8.5 million.
• Aflac reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.78, exceeding analysts' estimates, but experienced a 19.0% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a share buyback plan allowing for the repurchase of up to 100 million shares, suggesting that management believes the stock is undervalued.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 62.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 125,400 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,725,000 after buying an additional 2,433 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 7,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 1,498 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 43,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,548,000 after buying an additional 5,306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AFL traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $109.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,799,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,434,687. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $58.37 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.19. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $106.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.