Aflac Incorporated $AFL Position Raised by Gateway Wealth Partners LLC

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 1,025.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 25,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,236 shares during the quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 12,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owned 33,310 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,947.40. This trade represents a 27.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 27,845 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.71, for a total transaction of $3,249,789.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,898,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,362,767.90. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 744,916 shares of company stock valued at $87,118,632 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Aflac stock opened at $126.61 on Tuesday. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $126.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $118.80 and its 200-day moving average is $114.31.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released 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). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 25.60% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AFL. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aflac from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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 boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Aflac from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.17.

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.