Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Raises Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 202,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,822 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $22,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Aflac by 126.1% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 21,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 11,903 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Aflac by 3.8% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,768,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,662,000 after acquiring an additional 65,308 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Aflac by 12.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 97,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,841,000 after acquiring an additional 10,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in Aflac by 31.0% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 55,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,146,000 after acquiring an additional 13,017 shares in the last quarter. 67.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aflac Stock Performance

Shares of AFL stock opened at $109.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $111.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $56.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.66. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $96.95 and a 1 year high of $119.32.

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

Insider Activity

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 15,590 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 62,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,841,713.41. The trade was a 20.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Post Holdings Co. Ltd. Japan sold 14,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.03, for a total transaction of $1,519,826.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 52,018,600 shares in the company, valued at $5,567,550,758. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 235,077 shares of company stock worth $25,690,082 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $119.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.00.

Aflac Company 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.