Agate Pass Investment Management LLC Purchases 250 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Agate Pass Investment Management LLC raised its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,307,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $590,161,000 after buying an additional 56,776 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $397,510,000 after purchasing an additional 349,787 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,730,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,441,000 after purchasing an additional 13,575 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,654,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,515,000 after purchasing an additional 343,881 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,607,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $178,725,000 after purchasing an additional 99,419 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $110.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.52. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.44.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The business 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 analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.45.

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.