Saiph Capital LLC Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Saiph Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 16,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,688,000. Aflac accounts for about 0.5% of Saiph Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 5.0% in the second quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Aflac by 3.4% in the second quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 1.7% in the second quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 6,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP grew its stake in Aflac by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 3,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC increased its holdings in Aflac by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Up 0.1%

AFL stock opened at $109.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $110.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.37.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.29%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $104.00 price target (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. 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, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.00.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total transaction of $89,407.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,829 shares in the company, valued at $2,824,298.75. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,837,056. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 22,822 shares of company stock valued at $2,571,002 in the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.