OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Cuts Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 63.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 768 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Aflac were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Aflac by 121.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Aflac by 90.8% in the first 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 last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $110.59 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $106.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.38. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $59.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.86.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. The trade was 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 accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $106.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, August 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.15.

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.