Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd Invests $15.57 Million in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd has invested approximately $15.57 million to acquire 140,000 shares in Aflac Incorporated during the first quarter.
• Aflac recently reported an earnings per share of $1.78, exceeding analyst expectations, although its quarterly revenue declined by 19.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $0.58 quarterly dividend, representing a yield of 2.1%, and has authorized a share buyback program for up to 100 million shares.

Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 140,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,567,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st 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. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 valued at $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 valued at $36,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $865,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL traded up $0.43 on Wednesday, reaching $106.71. The company had a trading volume of 632,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,403. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $57.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.85. The company's fifty day moving average is $103.85 and its 200 day moving average is $105.13. 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 (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Aflac's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.58 dividend. 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 2.2%. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.15.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.