Farther Finance Advisors LLC Has $2.66 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 119.4% in Q2, now holding 25,202 shares valued at approximately $2.66 million.
• Aflac recently declared a stock repurchase plan to buy back 100 million shares, indicating the board's belief that its stock is undervalued.
• The company reported earnings per share of $1.78, exceeding expectations, but revenue declined 19% year-over-year to $4.16 billion.

Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 119.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,716 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $2,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Down 0.5%

Aflac stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $107.45. 2,673,811 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,633,173. The business's 50 day moving average is $104.78 and its 200 day moving average is $105.15. The company has a market capitalization of $57.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

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

Aflac declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial decreased 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.15.

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.