Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys Shares of 7,053 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $822,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aflac by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter worth about $420,078,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $298,418,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Aflac by 161.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968,738 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AFL. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Aflac from $117.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.58.

Aflac Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE AFL opened at $121.74 on Wednesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $104.66 and a 12 month high of $130.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.60 and a 200-day moving average of $116.04. The company has a market cap of $61.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 26.91%.The firm had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total value of $7,441,560.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 523,833 shares of company stock worth $61,339,113. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac Company 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.