BIP Wealth LLC Decreases Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

BIP Wealth LLC cut its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.45.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $107.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.86. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $108.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.59.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.