MBB Public Markets I LLC Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 38,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,418,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in Aflac by 80.0% in the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.36.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $110.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $74.89 and a 1 year high of $111.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.15 and a 200 day moving average of $92.65. The company has a market cap of $62.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.08%.

Aflac Company 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.