Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Shares Bought by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Aflac were worth $9,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AFL. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $50,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $115.27 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $106.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.95. 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 $75.07 and a 1-year high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Aflac’s payout ratio is 22.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of Aflac 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,796,552.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.43.

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.