Elevatus Welath Management Invests $2.25 Million in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Elevatus Wealth Management has invested $2.25 million in Aflac Incorporated, acquiring 20,237 shares, which makes up about 1.3% of their portfolio.
• Aflac announced a stock repurchase program, allowing the company to buy back 100 million shares, signaling management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• For the most recent quarter, Aflac reported earnings of $1.78 per share, beating estimates, but experienced a 19% year-over-year decline in revenue.

Elevatus Welath Management bought a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 20,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,250,000. Aflac accounts for 1.3% of Elevatus Welath Management's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Aflac by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $754,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,753 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,250,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $543,154,000 after purchasing an additional 556,394 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $397,510,000 after purchasing an additional 349,787 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Aflac by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,730,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $192,441,000 after purchasing an additional 13,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in Aflac by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,607,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $178,725,000 after purchasing an additional 99,419 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock traded up $1.5090 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $107.8190. 1,779,224 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,165,850. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.50. The company's fifty day moving average price is $102.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.81. The firm has a market cap of $57.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.