Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $4.97 Million Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,295 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $4,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AFL. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Aflac by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In other news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 26,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.62, for a total value of $3,067,106.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,929,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,939,414,033.70. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,053,156 shares of company stock worth $121,385,784. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $116.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $59.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.26.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.05). Aflac had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 25.60%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Aflac’s payout ratio is currently 27.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Aflac from $116.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho set a $104.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.27.

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.