B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management Takes $1.44 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• B & T Capital Management acquired 12,244 Aflac shares worth approximately $1.44 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 67.44% of Aflac.
• Aflac’s analyst consensus rating is “Hold”, with an average price target of $117.58; ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Aflac reported quarterly EPS of $1.75, slightly below estimates, while revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded forecasts. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, representing a 2.0% yield.

B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,436,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at $4,093,787,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,301,056,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759,169 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $420,078,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $298,418,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Aflac by 161.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $349,405,000 after buying an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho set a $116.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $117.58.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $120.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $60.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $104.66 and a one year high of $130.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $121.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,059,311. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.09, for a total value of $1,574,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,872,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,160,174,032.10. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 541,333 shares of company stock worth $63,345,006. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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