Vicus Capital Acquires Shares of 2,856 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Vicus Capital has acquired 2,856 shares of Aflac Incorporated for approximately $301,000, marking the firm’s new position in the financial services provider during the second quarter.
• Aflac's board has initiated a stock repurchase plan authorizing the buyback of up to 100 million shares, indicating confidence that the stock is undervalued.
• Aflac recently reported earnings of $1.78 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, despite a 19% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Vicus Capital acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $551,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 11.8% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter worth $2,626,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $110.59 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $106.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm's revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were 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 was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $106.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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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