Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Has $24.28 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 14.7%, owning 230,237 shares, valued at approximately $24.28 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Aflac recently authorized a share repurchase program allowing the company to buy back 100 million shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• For Q2, Aflac reported an EPS of $1.78, surpassing estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share with a payout ratio of 52.61%.

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,525 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for approximately 1.5% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Aflac were worth $24,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,307,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $590,161,000 after buying an additional 56,776 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 349,787 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position 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 buying an additional 13,575 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Aflac by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,654,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,515,000 after buying an additional 343,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position 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 buying an additional 99,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $112.24 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.41. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $60.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Barclays set a $98.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.15.

Aflac Company 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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