92,100 Shares in Aflac Incorporated $AFL Bought by Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 92,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,069,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Aflac by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,142,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,301,056,000 after buying an additional 6,759,169 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aflac during the 4th quarter worth about $420,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Aflac by 161.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,184,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,405,000 after buying an additional 1,968,738 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 1,184.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 390.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,111,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,588,000 after acquiring an additional 885,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of AFL stock opened at $127.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $119.64 and its 200-day moving average is $114.84. The stock has a market cap of $64.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.60. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $130.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AFL. Mizuho set a $112.00 target price on Aflac in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Aflac in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Aflac from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Aflac from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aflac news, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 63,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.12, for a total transaction of $7,441,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,169,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,044,133,662.20. The trade was a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 744,916 shares of company stock worth $87,118,632 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.