Summit Wealth Group LLC Co. Acquires New Shares in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Summit Wealth Group LLC initiated a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter, buying 13,068 shares valued at about $1.44 million.
• Institutional interest in Aflac remained strong, with several other funds increasing or starting positions; overall, 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Aflac recently reported Q1 earnings of $1.75 per share, below estimates, but revenue came in ahead of expectations at $4.24 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, yielding about 2.1%.

Summit Wealth Group LLC Co. acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,441,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 282.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 5,618 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Aflac by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 2,357 shares in the last quarter. Argos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,012,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $99.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on Aflac from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on Aflac in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Aflac from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.36.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $116.20 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $111.53 and its 200 day moving average is $111.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $59.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.62. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.Aflac's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 166,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.38, for a total value of $18,655,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,723,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,812,641,978. The trade was a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 573,475 shares of company stock valued at $63,610,696 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac's product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.

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