Aflac Incorporated $AFL Position Boosted by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 21.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 313,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 55,762 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $35,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AFL. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 188.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Aflac in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

Aflac stock opened at $109.10 on Tuesday. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.35. The company has a market capitalization of $56.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $4.28 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $839,015.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,943.08. This trade represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 17,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total value of $1,961,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 52,150,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,715,650,960. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 133,677 shares of company stock valued at $14,749,748 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AFL. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Mizuho set a $107.00 price objective on Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.73.

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.