Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Bought by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,463 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $7,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759,169 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $420,078,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 1,184.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Aflac by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,588,000 after purchasing an additional 885,141 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 132.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,227,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,078,000 after purchasing an additional 699,080 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:AFL opened at $124.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $117.82 and a 200-day moving average of $113.71. The company has a market cap of $63.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.61. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $125.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Aflac from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore upgraded Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.50.

About Aflac

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.