Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 35,242 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management has increased its stake in Aflac by 20.8% to a total of 204,670 shares, valued at approximately $22.76 million.
• Aflac's recent earnings report indicated an EPS of $1.78, beating estimates, despite a 19% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company has announced a $0.58 quarterly dividend and approved a stock repurchase program authorizing the buyback of 100 million shares.

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 20.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 35,242 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $22,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the first 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 purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 90.8% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,771,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,606. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $103.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.12. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a market capitalization of $56.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. Aflac's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.