Simplicity Wealth LLC Raises Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 139.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,859 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at $2,070,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $551,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aflac by 121.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Aflac by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 32,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter worth about $2,626,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $112.85 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $60.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.46. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $115.44.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The firm 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 revenue was down 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Dividend Announcement

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 2.1%. 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AFL. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler set a $125.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.23.

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.