The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 245,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,130 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Aflac were worth $26,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Aflac during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Aflac from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $101.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.17.

Aflac Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AFL opened at $127.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $119.64 and its 200 day moving average is $114.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, 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 $130.22.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. Aflac’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.54, for a total value of $1,441,599.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total value of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 50,898,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Aflac

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.