2,694 Shares in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Acquired by Western Wealth Management LLC

Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $197,820,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,588,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Aflac by 196.5% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 484,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,945,000 after buying an additional 320,867 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Aflac by 161.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 311,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,723,000 after buying an additional 191,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,546,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac 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 value of $197,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 22,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.47, for a total value of $1,957,403.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 61,522 shares in the company, valued at $5,381,329.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.62.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock remained flat at $104.76 on Monday. The company had a trading volume of 335,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,218,121. The company has a fifty day moving average of $93.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.89. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $105.39. The company has a market cap of $59.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. Aflac’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

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.