Trust Co. of Vermont Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Trust Co. of Vermont acquired 15,178 Aflac shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.78 million. Institutional investors collectively own 67.44% of Aflac’s stock.
• Aflac’s latest quarterly results included $1.75 in EPS, slightly below estimates, while revenue of $4.22 billion exceeded expectations; revenue declined 1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $117.58. Aflac also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.61 per share, representing a 2% annualized yield.

Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 15,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,526,000 after acquiring an additional 56,975 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,743,000. Atlas Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,802,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Aflac by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 63,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,018,000 after purchasing an additional 27,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Aflac by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,072,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,256,000 after purchasing an additional 46,262 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.09, for a total transaction of $1,574,170.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,872,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,160,174,032.10. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,059,311. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 541,333 shares of company stock worth $63,345,006 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aflac from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.58.

Aflac Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $120.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $121.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.95. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $104.66 and a 1 year high of $130.22. The stock has a market cap of $60.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

About Aflac

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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