Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated by 2.1%, now owning 193,789 shares worth approximately $20.4 million.
• Aflac's Board of Directors has authorized a substantial share repurchase plan, allowing the company to buy back up to 100 million shares from the market.
• Recent analyst ratings reflect a consensus outlook with three "Buy", seven "Hold", and two "Sell" ratings, alongside an average price target of $109.45.

US Bancorp DE lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,120 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Aflac were worth $20,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 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 purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.45.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $110.78 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $107.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.44. The company has a market cap of $59.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

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.

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