Ethic Inc. Has $14.91 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated by 6.3%, owning a total of 132,607 shares valued at approximately $14.9 million after purchasing 7,877 shares in Q1.
• Aflac reported earnings of $1.78 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.71, but experienced a 19% year-over-year revenue decline with total revenue of $4.16 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, set to be paid on September 2nd, representing a 2.2% yield, as well as initiating a share repurchase plan for up to 100 million shares.

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,607 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,877 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $14,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 121.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 90.8% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.0%

Aflac stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $105.35. 2,645,887 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,485,940. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $115.50. The firm has a market cap of $56.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.81.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Aflac

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.