Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) Holdings Trimmed by HMS Capital Management LLC

HMS Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. HMS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AFL. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 36.2% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 6,369 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.8% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 0.7% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 210,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac during the first quarter valued at $428,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aflac by 7.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AFL opened at $84.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $62.93 and a 1-year high of $86.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.61 and its 200-day moving average is $80.67.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.22). Aflac had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 24.92%. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,850.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 30,493 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.91, for a total transaction of $2,436,695.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,879,451.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur Reginald Collins sold 3,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.73, for a total value of $239,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,850.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,493 shares of company stock worth $3,765,706. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Aflac from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Aflac from $61.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Aflac from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Aflac from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aflac currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.36.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.