S&CO Inc. Has $8.89 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

S&CO Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Up 0.3%

Aflac stock opened at $114.06 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $115.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.71. The firm has a market cap of $59.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Aflac announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 12th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 30.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $104.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Aflac from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.50.

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.