FORA Capital LLC Cuts Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC significantly reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 56.4% in the first quarter, leaving them with 17,064 shares valued at approximately $1.9 million.
• Aflac's board has approved a stock buyback plan allowing the company to repurchase 100 million shares, signaling confidence in the stock's value.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%.

FORA Capital LLC reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 56.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,088 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.15.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of Aflac stock traded up $0.86 on Friday, hitting $106.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,399,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,736,417. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.98. The company has a market capitalization of $57.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Aflac declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.