Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC

Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,186 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $3,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Aflac by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 43,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,548,000 after buying an additional 5,306 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in Aflac by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 169,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,526,000 after acquiring an additional 14,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 83,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,661,000 after buying an additional 16,497 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of AFL traded up $0.45 on Friday, reaching $109.14. The stock had a trading volume of 1,799,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,434,687. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.85. 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 50-day simple moving average of $104.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.18. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 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 report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $106.00 target price (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.15.

Insider Activity

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 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 trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.