Aflac Incorporated $AFL Position Raised by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 152,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 814 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $16,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $110.78 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $107.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $115.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. On average, research 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 repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AFL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

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.