Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by MV Capital Management Inc.

MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the quarter. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $400,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AFL. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 25,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 80.0% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 5,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,381,329.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $50,904.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,342. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $89.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,778,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,243,126. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $69.00 and a one year high of $91.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $87.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.87.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 27.67% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Aflac from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.69.

Aflac 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.