Northstar Financial Companies Inc. Has $1.10 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. lifted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the quarter. Aflac accounts for 1.2% of Northstar Financial Companies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Northstar Financial Companies Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 23.6% in the first quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 44,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,934,000 after purchasing an additional 8,461 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.2% in the first quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.6% in the first quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 32.7% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 415,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,204,000 after purchasing an additional 102,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apexium Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 3.4% in the first quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 3,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $107.58 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $103.40 and its 200-day moving average is $104.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.83. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.95 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

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

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 25,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,575,019.85. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AFL. 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $106.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.15.

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.