Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Has $52.37 Million Stock Holdings in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 468,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 157,386 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $52,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 155.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 142,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,925,000 after purchasing an additional 86,741 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $2,315,000. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Aflac by 5.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 234,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,236,000 after purchasing an additional 12,723 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Aflac by 1,184.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,199,000 after buying an additional 1,165,676 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $19,110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AFL shares. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Mizuho set a $107.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aflac has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

Aflac Trading Down 0.8%

Aflac stock opened at $108.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.63 and a 200-day moving average of $110.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $96.95 and a one year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.12). Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Aflac’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Aflac

Here are the key news stories impacting Aflac this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New distribution deal: Aflac announced a partnership with Empower Brokerage to distribute supplemental-insurance products, which should broaden channels for sales and support premium growth over time. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings/fundamentals context: Aflac’s Feb. 4 quarter showed an EPS miss and revenue decline year-over-year; consensus remains a “Hold” with an average target around $111. That keeps analysts cautious and caps upside absent clearer improvement in top-line trends.
• Neutral Sentiment: Human-interest coverage: Aflac ran a feature on a policyholder’s cancer journey (brand/PR positive but unlikely to move the stock materially). Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Director insider sale: Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares (avg. ~$109.93) on Mar. 11. Insider sales can be read negatively by the market even if motivated by personal reasons; SEC Form 4 filed. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder trimming: Post Holdings (Japan) has executed several small block sales (multiple ~17k–19k-share trades across Mar. 5–11). Sales are small relative to its >10% stake but add supply and suggest portfolio rebalancing rather than confidence-boosting buying. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity incident disclosed: Media reports say Aflac confirmed a cybersecurity breach; details remain limited. Potential data, remediation costs, regulatory follow-ups or client impact make this the most direct near‑term operational risk in the headlines. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $839,015.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,943.08. This represents a 15.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.93, for a total transaction of $1,713,808.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 62,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,841,713.41. This represents a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 115,777 shares of company stock worth $12,787,908 over the last ninety days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.