Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Has $3.48 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 11.8%, acquiring an additional 3,484 shares and raising its total holdings to 32,982 shares valued at approximately $3.48 million.
• Aflac announced a new stock buyback plan allowing the repurchase of 100 million shares, indicating the board's confidence in the stock's valuation.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per share, representing a 2.1% yield and a payout ratio of 52.61%.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 11.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,070,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $2,626,000. Finally, WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $3,056,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac 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 transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AFL traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $108.35. 866,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,210,092. 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 Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $104.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.19. The company has a market capitalization of $57.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Evercore ISI reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $106.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.15.

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.