Traub Capital Management LLC Takes $167,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $167,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $109.33 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.83. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $109.98 and its 200 day moving average is $106.04. The company has a market cap of $57.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $193,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at $153,450. The trade was a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.00, for a total transaction of $114,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,692,110. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,960 shares of company stock valued at $794,458 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $104.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.00.

Aflac Company 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.