Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Has $70.73 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Greatmark Investment Partners boosted its Aflac stake by 9.5% in the first quarter, ending with 644,665 shares valued at about $70.7 million. Aflac is now the firm’s largest holding, making up roughly 8.3% of its portfolio.
• Aflac’s stock was trading near its 52-week high, opening at $120.45 and sitting between a low of $96.95 and a high of $121.53 over the past year. The company has a market value of about $61.3 billion.
• The insurer recently missed quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.75 per share versus estimates of $1.80, though revenue came in slightly above forecasts at $4.24 billion. Aflac also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, for an annualized yield of about 2.0%.

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 644,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 56,097 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up approximately 8.3% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.13% of Aflac worth $70,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Aflac by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $120.45 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $116.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $61.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $121.53.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The company's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore raised shares of Aflac from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.18.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total transaction of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,723,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,812,641,978. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 997,071 shares of company stock valued at $115,529,904. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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