Studio Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,044 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Studio Investment Management LLC increased its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 19.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,044 shares during the quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 3.6% in the second quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 2.0% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 1.7% during the first quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 4.1% during the second quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 3,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays began coverage on Aflac in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.94, for a total transaction of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,796,552.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL stock opened at $108.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $74.89 and a 1 year high of $111.14. The company has a market cap of $60.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $99.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.45.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The business had revenue of $5.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.08%.

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.