Picton Mahoney Asset Management Purchases New Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $870,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Aflac by 16.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,545,000 after purchasing an additional 594,971 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Aflac during the 2nd quarter worth $432,201,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Aflac by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $196,662,000 after buying an additional 65,308 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Aflac by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,407,000 after buying an additional 163,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Aflac by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,569,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,530,000 after acquiring an additional 81,100 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,943.08. This trade represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.4%

Aflac stock opened at $111.48 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.70 and a 200-day moving average of $110.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Aflac Incorporated has a twelve month low of $96.95 and a twelve month high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 21.24%.The business’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Barclays set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Aflac and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.73.

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.