Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Sells 12,878 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI reduced its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 5.6%, selling 12,878 shares and now holding 216,309 shares valued at approximately $22.8 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their stakes in Aflac, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its stake by 64.4% in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts are mixed on Aflac, with Barclays maintaining an "underweight" rating and a price target of $102, while Morgan Stanley raised its target price to $113.

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 216,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,878 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for 1.8% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI's holdings in Aflac were worth $22,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 11.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 30.8% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 120,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,449,000 after acquiring an additional 28,503 shares during the period. Finally, XML Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth about $206,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.45.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $107.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.45. 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 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.43.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AFL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report).

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.