R Squared Ltd Invests $555,000 in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• R Squared Ltd has invested approximately $555,000 in Aflac Incorporated by acquiring 5,267 shares during the second quarter.
• Aflac's Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan allowing for the repurchase of 100,000,000 outstanding shares, indicating a belief that the company's stock is undervalued.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58, which reflects an annualized yield of 2.2%.

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,267 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $555,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $551,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 121.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,626,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $107.49 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The business's fifty day moving average price is $108.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AFL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.45.

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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