Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Uncommon Cents Investing LLC

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,105 shares during the period. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 121.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 90.8% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.15.

Aflac Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $111.36 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $105.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.85.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.16 billion during 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 business’s revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.61%.

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.