37,426 Shares in Aflac Incorporated $AFL Purchased by North Star Asset Management Inc.

North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 37,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,388,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Groupe la Francaise bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total value of $74,460.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,059,311. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 12,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.49, for a total value of $1,479,423.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,765,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,913,683,579.10. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 502,125 shares of company stock worth $58,965,806 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.62.

Aflac Price Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $116.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $58.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $121.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.21. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $104.66 and a 52-week high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.