SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Acquires 2,242 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,242 shares during the quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 5.2% during the second quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. S&CO Inc. increased its stake in Aflac by 1.3% in the second quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 84,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,887,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $1,624,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Aflac by 23.9% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 36,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,813,000 after acquiring an additional 6,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at $153,450. The trade was a 55.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $113.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.78. 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. The firm has a market cap of $59.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. The company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $104.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.50.

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.