Madison Asset Management LLC Has $1.06 Million Stake in Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Madison Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 133.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,432 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Aflac were worth $1,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aflac by 7.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,496,000. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at approximately $856,000. Midwest Trust Co increased its position in Aflac by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 8,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in Aflac by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 11,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AFL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $119.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Aflac in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore increased their price target on Aflac from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 15,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $1,776,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 230,688 shares in the company, valued at $25,837,056. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 786 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.75, for a total value of $89,407.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,824,298.75. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,592 shares of company stock valued at $2,844,656. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Aflac Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AFL opened at $115.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $60.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.00. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $96.95 and a 12-month high of $119.32.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aflac 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.