Whittier Trust Co. Has $1.26 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Whittier Trust Co. decreased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 722 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in 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. Finally, Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.45.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $107.81 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $57.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.86. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $115.43.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio 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.