Ariel Investments LLC Has $24.40 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC has reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 28%, selling 85,162 shares and now owns 219,423 shares valued at approximately $24.4 million.
• Aflac's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.78, surpassing estimates but with a significant 19% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.2%, with a payout ratio of 52.61%.

Ariel Investments LLC trimmed its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 28.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 219,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 85,162 shares during the quarter. Ariel Investments LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $24,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 24.4% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 3.5% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apexium Financial LP lifted its position in Aflac by 3.4% during the first quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 3,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial cut 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. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.15.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock traded down $1.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $106.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,547,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,480,129. 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 50 day moving average price of $103.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.08. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

About Aflac

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.