Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Purchased by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 23.6% during the 1st quarter, owning 44,377 shares valued at approximately $4.93 million.
• Aflac announced a stock repurchase program authorizing the buyback of 100 million shares, indicating confidence from the board regarding the stock's valuation.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.2%, payable to shareholders on September 2nd.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 23.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,461 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Aflac were worth $4,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in 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 last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Aflac by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $865,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Down 1.6%

Aflac stock traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $105.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 909,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,196,266. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $103.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.01. 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 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on 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 dropped their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $106.00 price target (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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.