Vanguard Group Inc. Has $5.63 Billion Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,382,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 403,938 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Aflac worth $5,627,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Aflac by 5.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 762,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,169,000 after acquiring an additional 36,642 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 103,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,595,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares during the last quarter. Moment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 2.1% during the third quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 6,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Aflac by 126.1% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 11,903 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays set a $101.00 target price on Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 target price on Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 5,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.53, for a total transaction of $601,538.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,202,447.04. This represents a 12.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $115.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.46. The company has a market cap of $60.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.67. Aflac Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $96.95 and a fifty-two week high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

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.