IFG Advisory LLC Grows Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 51,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $5,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AFL. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.45.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL opened at $106.78 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $108.63 and a 200 day moving average of $105.62. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.43. 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 stock has a market cap of $57.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given 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 dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.