Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by BKM Wealth Management LLC

BKM Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 186 shares during the quarter. Aflac comprises approximately 1.1% of BKM Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. BKM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Aflac in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 period. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac in the first quarter valued at $36,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AFL opened at $107.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $108.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.41. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AFL. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Evercore ISI set a $110.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.