GDS Wealth Management Trims Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

GDS Wealth Management trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 432 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Aflac were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 111,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,547,000 after acquiring an additional 34,845 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,151,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $119,150,000 after acquiring an additional 109,182 shares during the period. Finally, Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $217,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $107.8190 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.83. The company has a market capitalization of $57.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.83.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $106.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.15.

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.