Apexium Financial LP Has $269,000 Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Apexium Financial LP trimmed its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 17.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 551 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in Aflac were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $140,746,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 133.2% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 758,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,329,000 after purchasing an additional 433,134 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,575,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $397,510,000 after purchasing an additional 349,787 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,654,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,515,000 after purchasing an additional 343,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 96.0% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 407,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,056,000 after purchasing an additional 199,583 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:AFL opened at $112.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $115.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.39. The company has a market cap of $60.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.86.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. Aflac had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 15.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Aflac Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total transaction of $102,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,019.85. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays set a $98.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Aflac from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.15.

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.