Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Sold by Mizuho Markets Americas LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC has reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 51.7%, selling 12,474 shares and now holding 11,671 shares valued at approximately $1.3 million.
• Aflac will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.58 on September 2nd, providing an annualized yield of 2.2%, with a payout ratio of 52.61%.
• In its recent earnings report, Aflac beat expectations with $1.78 EPS but reported a 19% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lessened its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 51.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,474 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,504,000 after buying an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth about $865,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 70,992 shares in the company, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,300,075 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.62. 2,447,468 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,166,745. The firm has a market cap of $56.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $102.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.88.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company's revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.23.

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.