Prudential PLC Purchases 9,765 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 8.2%, owning 128,830 shares valued at approximately $14.33 million as of the latest filing.
• Aflac reported quarterly earnings of $1.78 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.07, but experienced a 19% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company announced a share repurchase plan allowing it to buy back 100 million shares, which typically indicates confidence in the stock's undervaluation.

Prudential PLC raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,765 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $14,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 90.8% during the 1st 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. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total value of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 70,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,496,045.28. The trade was a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.54.

Aflac Stock Up 0.0%

AFL traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $105.35. 2,645,887 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,172,469. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.87. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

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.