BIP Wealth LLC Boosts Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

BIP Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 348.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,293 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $6,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 188.5% in 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. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 20,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.20, for a total transaction of $2,215,020.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,934,800 shares in the company, valued at $5,723,214,960. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 274,777 shares of company stock worth $30,058,162 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho set a $107.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.00.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $110.39 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.45. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.