Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Purchases 10,758 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated by 187.1% during the first quarter, now owning 16,508 shares valued at approximately $1.84 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and FMR LLC, have significantly raised their stakes in Aflac, with institutional investors owning 67.44% of the stock.
• Aflac is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.58 on September 2nd, representing an annualized yield of 2.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 52.61%.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 187.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,758 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 121.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 90.8% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL traded up $1.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $103.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,014,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,401,225. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $102.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.89. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company 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%. Aflac's revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% 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. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total value of $290,675.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,728 shares in the company, valued at $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac 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.