Somerville Kurt F Takes $504,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Somerville Kurt F purchased a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on Aflac in a report on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.62.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $116.48 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $104.66 and a 12-month high of $130.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $121.59 and its 200 day moving average is $116.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $58.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the sale, the director owned 32,710 shares in the company, valued at $4,059,311. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.33, for a total transaction of $1,686,487.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,844,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,168,986,237.70. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 507,333 shares of company stock valued at $59,450,256. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Aflac

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.