Foster & Motley Inc. Cuts Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. reduced its position in Aflac Incorporated by 3.1%, now holding 93,879 shares valued at approximately $9.9 million.
• Aflac's Board of Directors approved a share buyback plan authorizing the company to repurchase 100 million shares, indicating a belief in the stock's undervaluation.
• The company's most recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $1.07, with analysts forecasting an EPS of 6.88 for the current year.

Foster & Motley Inc. lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,021 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $9,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 121.9% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $107.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's fifty day moving average is $108.36 and its 200-day moving average is $105.46. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

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

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is 52.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.45.

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.

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