Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 724 shares during the period. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 1.5% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 24.4% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 1.5% in the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 6,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apexium Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 3,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $107.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.18. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.50.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.15.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.