Vision Capital Management Inc. Makes New $260,000 Investment in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Key Points

• Vision Capital Management Inc. invested approximately $260,000 in Aflac Incorporated, acquiring 2,466 shares during the second quarter.
• Aflac announced a share repurchase program authorizing the buyback of 100 million shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Despite a quarterly revenue decline of 19.0% year-over-year, Aflac reported earnings per share of $1.78, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Vision Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $551,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $2,626,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:AFL opened at $109.50 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $105.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.22. The company has a market capitalization of $58.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price objective (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.

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