Norinchukin Bank The Buys 3,560 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Norinchukin Bank increased its stake in Aflac by 15.2%, owning 27,018 shares worth approximately $3 million after acquiring an additional 3,560 shares.
• Despite a decrease in revenue year-over-year, Aflac reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.78 for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.07.
• Aflac has authorized a stock buyback program allowing the repurchase of 100 million shares, signaling management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Norinchukin Bank The increased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Aflac were worth $3,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Summit Financial LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 120.3% in the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 42,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,720,000 after acquiring an additional 23,178 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Aflac by 3.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 851,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,668,000 after acquiring an additional 26,458 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 4.1% in the first quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in Aflac by 2.7% in the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 107,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,908,000 after acquiring an additional 2,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA purchased a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at about $213,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.15.

Insider Activity

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 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. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1%

Aflac stock traded up $0.1620 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $108.3520. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,230,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,594,252. 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 stock has a market cap of $57.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.85. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

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

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.