Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 14,122 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 8.0% during Q1, owning 162,270 shares valued at approximately $18 million after selling 14,122 shares.
• Aflac's quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations with earnings per share of $1.78, but its revenue fell by 19% year-over-year to $4.16 billion.
• The company has authorized a stock repurchase program for 100 million shares as a sign it believes its stock is undervalued, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.58.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,122 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $18,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AFL. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 12,313.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,504,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $167,237,000 after buying an additional 1,491,951 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Aflac by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,296,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $754,700,000 after buying an additional 1,357,753 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $140,746,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,250,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $543,154,000 after buying an additional 556,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $48,081,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.8%

Aflac stock traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $106.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,399,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,736,417. The firm's 50 day moving average is $103.54 and its 200 day moving average is $104.98. The company has a market cap of $57.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price target (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.15.

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.