Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 27.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,197 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 188.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 1,526.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Mizuho set a $107.00 target price on Aflac in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.91.

Aflac Price Performance

AFL stock opened at $114.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $60.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.09. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total value of $601,538.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,447.04. This represents a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,837,056. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,592 shares of company stock worth $2,844,656. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is a provider of supplemental insurance products designed to help policyholders manage out-of-pocket health care and living expenses. The company underwrites a range of individual and group policies that typically pay cash benefits directly to insureds when covered events occur, enabling greater financial flexibility for medical treatment, hospital stays, critical illness, and related costs. Aflac’s product mix includes supplemental health insurance, life insurance and other specialty coverages intended to complement primary medical plans.

Founded in the mid-20th century and headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac distributes its products through a combination of employer-sponsored programs, independent brokers and agents, and direct marketing.