Blue Trust Inc. Has $21.82 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 197,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,087 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $21,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in Aflac by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 13,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 9,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. now owns 24,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,755,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 208,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,968,000 after purchasing an additional 6,362 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.03, for a total transaction of $1,519,826.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 52,018,600 shares in the company, valued at $5,567,550,758. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 62,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,841,713.41. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 235,077 shares of company stock worth $25,690,082 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AFL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price objective on Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Three equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.00.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE AFL opened at $109.75 on Thursday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.13 and a 200-day moving average of $110.38. 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 firm has a market cap of $56.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Aflac Company 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.