Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Edmp Inc.

Edmp Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 876 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for approximately 3.9% of Edmp Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Edmp Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,504,000 after buying an additional 1,411 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.3% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 27,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,016,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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, October 9th. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.45.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $110.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $58.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.86. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.44. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.78 and a 200-day moving average of $105.45.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid 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 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.61%.

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.