APG Asset Management N.V. Cuts Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated by 6.8% during the first quarter, now owning approximately $38.47 million worth of shares.
• Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with an average target price of $109.15, while recent earnings showed a decline in revenue by 19.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share and authorized a substantial share buyback program allowing for the purchase of up to 100 million shares.

APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 373,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,318 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.07% of Aflac worth $38,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AFL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price 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. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.15.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock traded down $0.58 on Wednesday, hitting $107.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,554,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,202,391. The company has a market capitalization of $57.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.83. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.90. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 52.61%.

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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.