Berkeley Capital Partners LLC Has $1.22 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Berkeley Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 52.5%, owning 11,570 shares valued at approximately $1.22 million as of the last reporting period.
• Aflac's Board of Directors has approved a significant share buyback plan allowing the repurchase of up to 100 million outstanding shares, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, reflecting a 2.1% yield, and is expected to post earnings per share of 6.88 for the current fiscal year.

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 52.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,983 shares during the quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 121.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $102.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.45.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $108.77 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.43. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $108.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.41. The stock has a market cap of $58.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

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.

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