Guinness Asset Management LTD Sells 408,107 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Guinness Asset Management LTD lowered its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,986,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 408,107 shares during the period. Aflac accounts for approximately 4.3% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Aflac were worth $220,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 121.9% during the first 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 during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $865,000. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.57, for a total value of $102,570.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of AFL opened at $108.65 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $115.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $104.00 and its 200-day moving average is $105.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $58.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Aflac declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.58 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 52.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $98.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Evercore ISI restated an “underperform” rating and set a $106.00 price objective (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Aflac from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Aflac from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.