Aflac Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AFL)

Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 32,008 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,873% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,622 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,692,110. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Frederic Jean Guy Simard sold 1,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total transaction of $193,725.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,450. This trade represents a 55.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aflac

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth approximately $285,000. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new position in Aflac during the third quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Aflac by 9.5% in the third quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 2,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Gould Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 29,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,330,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 837,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,251,000 after buying an additional 16,760 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Aflac from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.00.

Aflac Stock Down 0.2%

AFL traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $112.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,337,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,188,952. Aflac has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $115.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $109.83 and its 200-day moving average is $105.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Increases Dividend

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

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.