Aflac Incorporated $AFL Holdings Boosted by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 6.8% during Q2, reaching a total of 37,492 shares valued at approximately $3.95 million.
• Aflac has authorized a stock buyback program allowing the repurchase of up to 100 million shares, signaling the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The firm recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.1%.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $3,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 121.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.4%

Aflac stock opened at $110.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $59.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.86. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $115.44. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $107.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.48.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's payout ratio is 52.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $102.00 target price (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.45.

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.

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