Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 22.2%, selling 51,337 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to 179,659 shares valued at approximately $19.98 million.
• Aflac announced a share buyback plan allowing it to repurchase up to 100 million shares, which often indicates management believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company's latest earnings report showed $1.78 earnings per share, exceeding estimates, though revenue fell 19% year-over-year to $4.16 billion.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 179,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 51,337 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $19,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.15.

Aflac Stock Down 1.1%

AFL stock traded down $1.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $106.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,117,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,195,360. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $56.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.92.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 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 firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.