QV Investors Inc. Has $2.11 Million Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

QV Investors Inc. increased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the quarter. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1,526.7% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Aflac in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:AFL opened at $107.22 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.59.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.