OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A Lowers Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A lessened its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A’s holdings in Aflac were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 120,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,449,000 after purchasing an additional 28,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XML Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $107.81 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $108.59 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.86. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.43.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.61%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.