CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Takes $8.35 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 74,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,350,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Aflac by 7.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,414,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,047,000 after purchasing an additional 310,220 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after buying an additional 594,971 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth $432,201,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.3% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,926,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $438,621,000 after buying an additional 13,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.0% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,631,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,583,000 after buying an additional 261,547 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $106.38 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $54.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a 12 month low of $96.95 and a 12 month high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AFL. Mizuho set a $107.00 target price on Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total transaction of $1,713,808.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 62,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,841,713.41. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $2,141,528.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 52,241,500 shares in the company, valued at $5,796,716,840. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 178,977 shares of company stock valued at $19,695,019 over the last quarter. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Aflac

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.