Guinness Asset Management LTD Has $250.19 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Guinness Asset Management LTD boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 19.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,372,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 385,546 shares during the quarter. Aflac makes up about 4.5% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD owned about 0.44% of Aflac worth $250,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 1,526.7% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 0.3%

AFL stock opened at $107.22 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.60. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.43. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

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.