Boston Family Office LLC Decreases Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

Boston Family Office LLC decreased its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Boston Family Office LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in Aflac by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,202,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,395,000 after purchasing an additional 45,745 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter worth about $335,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at about $2,256,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Aflac during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,235,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP boosted its holdings in Aflac by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 15,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 7,524 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aflac news, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 29,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.29, for a total value of $3,197,456.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,360,422.98. This represents a 37.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 1,000 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.63, for a total value of $107,630.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,733,048.59. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aflac Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE AFL opened at $111.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.10. Aflac Incorporated has a one year low of $79.31 and a one year high of $115.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.93.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AFL shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Aflac in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aflac from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.