Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 2.0% in the first quarter, owning 132,320 shares valued at approximately $14.71 million.
• Aflac recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58, with an annualized yield of 2.2%, set to be paid on September 2nd.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Aflac, with Wells Fargo raising its target from $105.00 to $107.00, while others have issued mixed ratings, reflecting a current average rating of "Hold."

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,618 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Aflac were worth $14,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AFL. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.5% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 24.4% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.5% in the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Optas LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.5% in the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.4% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 30,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,433,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction 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. 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.54.

Aflac Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $105.35. 2,645,887 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,582,534. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.50. The company has a market cap of $56.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.83. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $102.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.85.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. Aflac's revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

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.