GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Buys Shares of 9,438 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• GC Wealth Management RIA LLC acquired 9,438 shares of Aflac Incorporated, valued at approximately $995,000, during the second quarter.
• Aflac reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.78, exceeding analysts' estimates, but its revenue of $4.16 billion was below projections.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.1%, and authorized a stock repurchase program for up to 100 million shares.

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $995,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.1%

AFL opened at $111.23 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $59.49 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's fifty day moving average is $105.64 and its 200-day moving average is $105.28. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.50.

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 (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 firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Aflac's revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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