Pensionfund Sabic Acquires Shares of 14,100 Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Pensionfund Sabic bought a new stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 14,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,555,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Aflac by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $335,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 4.6% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 528,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,696,000 after purchasing an additional 23,141 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Aflac by 108.5% during the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $107.00 target price on Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.73.

Aflac Stock Down 0.5%

AFL stock opened at $106.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.66. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.37.

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total transaction of $1,713,808.70. Following the sale, the director owned 62,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,841,713.41. This trade represents a 20.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 16,800 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.47, for a total transaction of $1,788,696.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 52,061,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,543,019,846. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 205,877 shares of company stock worth $22,568,556. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.