North Star Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,265 Shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

North Star Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $3,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Aflac by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after buying an additional 1,862 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Aflac by 8.0% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 282,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,192,000 after acquiring an additional 21,053 shares in the last quarter. Nottingham Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the second quarter valued at approximately $670,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Aflac by 2.1% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 188,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,823,000 after purchasing an additional 3,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 2,178.9% during the 2nd quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 79,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,124,000 after purchasing an additional 76,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AFL stock opened at $108.86 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $99.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.89. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $73.79 and a fifty-two week high of $111.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $61.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.95.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.23. Aflac had a return on equity of 16.22% and a net margin of 28.35%. The company had revenue of $5.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Aflac’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Aflac from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on Aflac from $84.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Aflac from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 18,158 shares in the company, valued at $1,796,552.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.