Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,824,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 58,705 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Aflac were worth $425,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $718,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 6,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,672,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,607,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,725,000 after purchasing an additional 99,419 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:AFL opened at $105.35 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $56.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.85.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid 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 is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is 52.61%.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 70,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Evercore ISI reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $106.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.54.

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.