Summit Financial LLC Acquires 23,178 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Summit Financial LLC significantly increased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated by 120.3% during the first quarter, now owning a total of 42,447 shares valued at approximately $4.72 million.
• Aflac's Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program allowing the company to buy back 100 million shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share with an annualized yield of 2.1%, reflecting a payout ratio of 52.61%.

Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 120.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,178 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $4,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 90.8% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $108.0650 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $102.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.84. The stock has a market cap of $57.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.83. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company's revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Evercore ISI reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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