Natixis Advisors LLC Has $27.69 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 247,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 29,912 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $27,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac during the second quarter worth about $432,201,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,545,000 after buying an additional 594,971 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Aflac by 459.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 701,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,969,000 after buying an additional 575,915 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 65.5% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 975,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,861,000 after buying an additional 385,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 7.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,414,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,047,000 after buying an additional 310,220 shares during the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aflac Stock Performance

AFL opened at $110.35 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.30. The company has a market capitalization of $56.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.32. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,943.08. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 19,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.96, for a total transaction of $2,141,528.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 52,241,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,796,716,840. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 51,279 shares of company stock worth $5,697,789 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AFL shares. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays set a $101.00 price target on Aflac and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Three research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has a consensus 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.