Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $551,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 11.8% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,478,000 after buying an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $2,626,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $112.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $60.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.46.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AFL. Evercore ISI restated an “underperform” rating and set a $106.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.23.

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.