Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 2,102,963 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Geode Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,764,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,102,963 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.99% of Aflac worth $1,129,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $140,746,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $60,954,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 146.3% during the second quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 772,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,422,000 after acquiring an additional 458,551 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 133.2% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 758,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,329,000 after acquiring an additional 433,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 19.4% during the second quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 2,372,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,187,000 after acquiring an additional 385,546 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $114.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $109.57 and its 200 day moving average is $105.91. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.45. 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 company has a market cap of $60.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 30.29%.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total transaction of $114,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,692,110. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $193,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,450. This trade represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Company 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.