US Bancorp DE Lowers Position in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

US Bancorp DE cut its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 188,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,476 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Aflac were worth $21,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Aflac by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Aflac by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 6.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aflac by 22.6% in the second quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 4,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Aflac by 509.1% during the second quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 143,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,170,000 after acquiring an additional 120,231 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AFL. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Aflac from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aflac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Aflac currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.73.

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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,331 shares of company stock valued at $1,817,720. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Performance

NYSE:AFL opened at $112.75 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 52-week low of $96.95 and a 52-week high of $119.32. The firm has a market cap of $58.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.67. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $111.52 and its 200 day moving average is $109.98.

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

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.