LongView Wealth Management Grows Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• LongView Wealth Management increased its position in Aflac by 20.8% in the second quarter, holding 31,837 shares worth approximately $3,358,000.
• Aflac announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, yielding 2.1%, and recently approved a stock repurchase plan for 100 million shares.
• Aflac's stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $109.15, reflecting mixed analyst opinions on its future performance.

LongView Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,483 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for about 1.0% of LongView Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. LongView Wealth Management's holdings in Aflac were worth $3,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AFL. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth $551,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 121.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Aflac by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 94,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,350,000 after acquiring an additional 20,733 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $108.01. 6,940,718 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,397,686. The business has a 50 day moving average of $104.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. 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 $57.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.85.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Evercore ISI reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $106.00 target price (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

About Aflac

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.