SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Aflac by 1,526.7% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $26,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $110.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $107.19 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $108.61 and a 200 day moving average of $105.60. The company has a market capitalization of $57.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.