Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. recently reduced its holdings in Aflac Incorporated by 0.5%, retaining 503,223 shares, which comprise 6.7% of its portfolio.
• Aflac declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share and initiated a buyback program allowing it to repurchase 100 million shares.
• Institutional investors now own 67.44% of Aflac's stock, reflecting significant investment confidence in the financial services provider.

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 503,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,748 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for 6.7% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.09% of Aflac worth $53,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 121.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $108.25 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $115.43. The company has a market cap of $57.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $108.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.43.

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

Aflac declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $102.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.45.

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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