Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Legacy Financial Strategies LLC

Legacy Financial Strategies LLC trimmed its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 931 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for approximately 0.7% of Legacy Financial Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $106.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Trading Down 1.1%

AFL stock opened at $108.03 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.19. 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 firm has a market cap of $57.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.85.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

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

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.