Odyssean LLC Takes Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Odyssean LLC acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,046,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $103.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.62.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $117.53 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $104.66 and a twelve month high of $130.22. The company’s 50 day moving average is $121.58 and its 200 day moving average is $116.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $58.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.60.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 26.91% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,169,435 shares in the company, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 498,625 shares of company stock worth $58,523,683 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Company Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.