Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC decreased its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 149,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,598 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $16,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AFL. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 188.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,796,716,840. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director owned 62,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,841,713.41. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 220,877 shares of company stock worth $24,170,256 over the last three months. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AFL. 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. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.73.

Aflac Stock Up 0.9%

Aflac stock opened at $107.13 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $111.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.34. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $119.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company 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 posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share 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.