Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Raises Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,573 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in Aflac were worth $18,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 188.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Aflac by 100.0% during 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 in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $601,538.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,202,447.04. The trade was a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFL has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Three investment 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, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.91.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $114.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The stock has a market cap of $59.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $111.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.74.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted 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). Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The firm had revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

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.