North Star Asset Management Inc. Makes New $4.39 Million Investment in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 37,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,388,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in Aflac by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 168,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 56,975 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $3,743,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,630,000. Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at $1,802,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Aflac by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,072,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,256,000 after purchasing an additional 46,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $116.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $121.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $104.66 and a fifty-two week high of $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Aflac’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up from $98.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac 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 transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,044,133,662.20. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 502,125 shares of company stock valued at $58,965,806. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aflac 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.