Credit Agricole S A Sells 98,297 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A has reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated by 36.4%, owning 171,569 shares valued at approximately $19 million after selling 98,297 shares in the first quarter.
• Aflac's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $1.78 EPS against a consensus estimate of $1.71, though revenue fell short at $4.16 billion compared to the expected $4.30 billion.
• The company has launched a stock repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to 100 million shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation amidst market conditions.

Credit Agricole S A lowered its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 36.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 98,297 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Aflac were worth $19,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 24.4% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 30,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,433,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.15.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.1620 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.3520. The company had a trading volume of 2,230,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,583,883. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.50. 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 $57.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.08 and a 200 day moving average of $104.84.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.