Key Points
- Director Joseph Moskowitz sold 1,000 Aflac shares on Nov. 7 at an average price of $114, cutting his stake by 4.06% to 23,615 shares (≈$2.69M) as disclosed in an SEC filing.
- The board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.61 (annualized $2.44, yield ~2.1%) and authorized a share repurchase program for 100,000,000 shares, highlighting continued shareholder-return activity.
- Analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average target of $110.50, while the stock trades near its 52-week high (~$114.75) with a market cap of about $60.1B and a P/E of 26.0.
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) Director Joseph Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total transaction of $114,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,692,110. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.
Aflac Stock Up 0.1%
NYSE:AFL traded up $0.14 on Thursday, hitting $114.75. The stock had a trading volume of 339,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,180,013. The company has a market cap of $60.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The business's fifty day moving average is $109.43 and its 200 day moving average is $105.85. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.
Aflac (NYSE:AFL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Aflac Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This is a boost from Aflac's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Aflac's payout ratio is presently 30.29%.
Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $104.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on AFL
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFL. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 188.5% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Aflac by 1,526.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Aflac
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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