Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $8.03 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its holdings in Aflac by 26.1%, selling 25,472 shares and bringing their total to 72,171 shares valued at $8,025,000.
• Aflac's recent quarterly earnings report showed a net margin of 15.32% and earnings per share of $1.78, which surpassed analysts' expectations yet reported a 19% revenue decline year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Aflac, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging $109.15, reflecting varied perspectives on the company's stock potential.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 26.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,472 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 121.9% during the 1st 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. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $106.00 target price (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.15.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $109.14. 1,799,997 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,434,687. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $58.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.85. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $104.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.19.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Aflac 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.