AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Takes $680,000 Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 121.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 15.2% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 8,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 224.0% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 101,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,306,000 after buying an additional 70,306 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $110.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. The trade was a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $107.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $115.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $108.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.62.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter. Aflac had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 15.32%. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is presently 52.61%.

Aflac declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 12th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Aflac

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.