Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,668 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $2,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $551,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $2,626,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.8% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,478,000 after buying an additional 3,484 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Aflac Trading Down 1.5%
Shares of Aflac stock opened at $109.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.86. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $108.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.52. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.44.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm 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%. On average, analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.
Aflac announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Aflac Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.
Insider Buying and Selling 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 value of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
AFL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.45.
View Our Latest Report on Aflac
Aflac Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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