Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Decreases Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 90.8% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $108.0650 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.50. The stock has a market cap of $57.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $102.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.84.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The company’s revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $106.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.