Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $58.18 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 53.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 523,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 182,631 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Aflac worth $58,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Aflac by 121.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Aflac by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

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 shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 37,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.59, for a total transaction of $3,906,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 70,992 shares in the company, valued at $7,496,045.28. This trade represents a 34.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Evercore ISI restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.23.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $105.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.83. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $115.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.61%.

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.