Rhumbline Advisers Has $113.46 Million Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,015,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,503 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Aflac were worth $113,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the second quarter worth approximately $432,201,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Aflac by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,545,000 after purchasing an additional 594,971 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,954,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Aflac by 459.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 701,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,969,000 after purchasing an additional 575,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aflac by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 772,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,422,000 after purchasing an additional 458,551 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total value of $601,538.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,447.04. The trade was a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total value of $89,407.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,824,298.75. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 29,044 shares of company stock worth $3,241,981 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Aflac stock opened at $116.28 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.95. 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 capitalization of $60.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.67. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year high of $119.32.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.91.

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.