Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 51,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,068,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac
In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $1,500,012.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,791,790 shares in the company, valued at $5,906,069,341.20. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,059,311. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 494,225 shares of company stock worth $57,960,715 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.
Aflac Trading Down 1.7%
NYSE:AFL opened at $116.17 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $121.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.21. The company has a market cap of $58.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.Aflac's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Aflac Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $116.62.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Aflac
About Aflac
(
Free Report)
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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