Efficient Advisors LLC Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Efficient Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WorthPointe LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.9% in the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 300,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,387,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1.8% during the first quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 569,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,192,000 after acquiring an additional 10,278 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Advisors increased its position in shares of Aflac by 76.7% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $102.85 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $93.72 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.16. The company has a market cap of $55.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.81.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 21.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.70, for a total transaction of $290,675.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,149.60. This trade represents a 29.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.79, for a total transaction of $106,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,791.84. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $4,304,295. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $105.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.15.

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.