Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter, owning 17,284 shares valued at approximately $1.82 million post-sale.
• Aflac's Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program authorizing the repurchase of 100 million shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported $1.78 EPS in its last quarterly earnings, surpassing analysts' expectations, but experienced a 19% revenue decline compared to the same quarter last year.

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,655 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth about $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth about $551,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 11.8% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,478,000 after buying an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,626,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:AFL opened at $111.87 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $107.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.50. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $59.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $102.00 target price (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.17.

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.

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