U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 5,462 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac Incorporated by 2.6%, now holding 211,616 shares valued at approximately $22.3 million.
• Several institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in Aflac, with notable increases from AlphaCore Capital LLC and Golden State Wealth Management LLC during the first quarter.
• Aflac's Board of Directors approved a stock buyback plan allowing the purchase of up to 100 million shares, signaling confidence in the stock's valuation.

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,462 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises approximately 0.7% of U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Aflac were worth $22,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 61.3% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 9,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 182.2% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,372,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL traded down $0.59 on Monday, hitting $107.45. 2,673,811 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,633,173. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.78 and a 200-day moving average of $105.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $57.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.85.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.