Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its Aflac holdings by 56.3% in the second quarter, leaving them with 282,243 shares valued at approximately $29.8 million.
• Several large investors, including NorthRock Partners and Valued Wealth Advisors, increased their positions in Aflac, indicating ongoing interest in the company.
• Aflac recently reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, exceeding expectations, despite a 19% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 56.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 282,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 364,066 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.05% of Aflac worth $29,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AFL. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apexium Financial LP increased its stake in Aflac by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 3,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $107.45. 2,673,811 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,633,173. The company has a market cap of $57.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50 day moving average is $104.68 and its 200 day moving average is $105.15. 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 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac announced that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "underperform" rating and set a $106.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.15.

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.