Madison Asset Management LLC Has $1.06 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 133.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,432 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.8% in the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 11,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 3.9% during the third quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Aflac by 5.1% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Aflac by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 3,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. raised its position in Aflac by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 6,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $1,776,544.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,837,056. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,592 shares of company stock valued at $2,844,656. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AFL shares. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.91.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $115.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $110.61 and its 200 day moving average is $109.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The business’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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.