Independent Financial Group LLC Takes $770,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $770,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $123.34 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $125.93. The stock has a market cap of $62.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $118.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.92.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.Aflac’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.50.

Aflac Company 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.