Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by BIP Wealth LLC

BIP Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth 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. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter worth $2,626,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased 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 valued at $3,478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $102.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three investment 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 data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $107.22 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.43. The company has a market cap of $57.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.59. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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 2.2%. The ex-dividend date 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.