AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Makes New $2.07 Million Investment in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs invested approximately $2.07 million in Aflac Incorporated by acquiring nearly 20,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Aflac's recent quarterly earnings report indicated an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.78, exceeding analysts' estimations despite a 19% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a share buyback plan authorizing the repurchase of 100 million shares, a move suggesting management believes the stock is undervalued.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 19,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,070,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,307,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $590,161,000 after purchasing an additional 56,776 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,250,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $543,154,000 after buying an additional 556,394 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Aflac by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $397,510,000 after buying an additional 349,787 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Aflac by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,730,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $192,441,000 after buying an additional 13,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in Aflac by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,607,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $178,725,000 after buying an additional 99,419 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $108.30. 1,834,958 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,392,392. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day moving average price is $104.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.16.

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

Aflac announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.15.

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.