Moran Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Moran Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 198,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,863 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $21,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Aflac by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Aflac by 11.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 150,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,854,000 after purchasing an additional 15,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1.6% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL opened at $114.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.62. The company has a market capitalization of $58.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.66.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AFL. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Evercore upgraded shares of Aflac from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on shares of Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In related news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 86,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.24, for a total value of $9,756,192.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,636,945 shares in the company, valued at $5,847,367,651.80. This represents a 0.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 572,632 shares of company stock valued at $63,514,634. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.