Aflac Incorporated $AFL Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,480,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 89,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Aflac worth $165,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased 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 buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Aflac by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 110.9% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $110.09 on Tuesday. 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 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.28. The firm has a market cap of $56.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total value of $2,141,528.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 52,241,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,796,716,840. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $839,015.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,943.08. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,179 shares of company stock worth $3,582,082. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AFL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Mizuho set a $107.00 target price on Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.73.

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.