Quantitative Investment Management LLC Has $1.36 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 42.7% during the first quarter, holding shares now valued at $1.36 million.
• In related activities, several hedge funds have increased their holdings in Aflac, with Jump Financial LLC boosting its stake by 167.7% in the same quarter.
• Aflac recently announced a $0.58 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 2nd, signaling confidence in its financial performance despite a drop in revenue compared to last year.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 42.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,126 shares during the quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $1,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 167.7% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 3,947 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.6% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 91.8% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 20,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,316,000 after buying an additional 9,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp raised its position in shares of Aflac by 17.3% in the first quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 18,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,091,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $108.3520 on Monday. 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 $57.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.83. The company's fifty day moving average is $103.08 and its 200 day moving average is $104.85. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.15.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.