Comerica Bank Lowers Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated by 11.3%, now holding 129,215 shares valued at approximately $14.37 million.
• Analysts have raised Aflac's price targets, with JPMorgan increasing it from $96.00 to $100.00 and Wells Fargo from $105.00 to $107.00, indicating a general positive outlook on the stock.
• Aflac recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, contributing to a 2.2% dividend yield, alongside a share buyback program authorizing the repurchase of 100 million shares.

Comerica Bank lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 11.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,393 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Aflac were worth $14,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $865,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $106.00 target price (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.15.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $106.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,399,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,736,417. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $57.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50 day moving average price is $103.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.97. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Aflac

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.