Perigon Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total transaction of $74,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,059,311. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.43, for a total value of $1,712,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,858,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,175,758,583.70. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 523,833 shares of company stock valued at $61,339,113 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $121.74 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.58.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.