Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 288 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $110.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $59.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.86. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $107.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.52.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

About Aflac

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.