Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Sells 8,700 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 4.3% during the second quarter, leaving it with 193,900 shares valued at approximately $20.45 million.
• Several analysts have downgraded Aflac's price targets recently, with UBS lowering it from $114.00 to $111.00 and Raymond James from $115.00 to $110.00, while an average consensus target remains around $109.15.
• Aflac declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.1%, and has approved a stock repurchase program for up to 100 million shares.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,700 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $20,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 1.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,307,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $590,161,000 after purchasing an additional 56,776 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 10.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $397,510,000 after purchasing an additional 349,787 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Aflac by 0.8% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,730,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $192,441,000 after purchasing an additional 13,575 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in Aflac by 6.6% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,607,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $178,725,000 after purchasing an additional 99,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 12,313.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,504,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $167,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,951 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Aflac

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

Aflac Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE AFL traded down $0.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $107.45. 2,673,811 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,633,173. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.15. The company has a market capitalization of $57.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.85. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $106.00 price objective (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. 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 report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.15.

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.