Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Position Raised by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 62.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,454 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Aflac by 36.2% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 6,369 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Aflac by 6.8% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 0.7% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 210,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in Aflac during the first quarter worth approximately $428,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Aflac by 1.9% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 210,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,537,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Trading Up 0.8 %

Aflac stock opened at $80.28 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $64.10 and a 12 month high of $86.26. The stock has a market cap of $46.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.91.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). Aflac had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total value of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,879,451.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Kenny sold 5,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.62, for a total transaction of $423,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,390.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AFL. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.85.

Aflac 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.