Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Takes $2.36 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 20,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,361,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 21,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 13,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Aflac by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 19,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 7,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.43, for a total value of $1,712,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,858,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,175,758,583.70. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.10, for a total transaction of $74,460.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,059,311. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 523,833 shares of company stock worth $61,339,113 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Stock Up 0.6%

Aflac stock opened at $121.74 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.04. The stock has a market cap of $61.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.58.

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.