Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 3,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 21,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,942,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $111.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.18. The company has a market cap of $63.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $74.89 and a fifty-two week high of $112.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.36.

Aflac 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.