Xponance Inc. Sells 5,760 Shares of Aflac Incorporated $AFL

Xponance Inc. lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,760 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Aflac were worth $8,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aflac during the second quarter valued at about $432,201,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Aflac by 16.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,167,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,545,000 after buying an additional 594,971 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 459.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 701,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,969,000 after buying an additional 575,915 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Aflac by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 772,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,422,000 after buying an additional 458,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Aflac by 65.5% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 975,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,861,000 after purchasing an additional 385,955 shares during the period. 67.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other news, EVP Steven Kent Beaver sold 7,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total transaction of $839,015.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,943.08. The trade was a 15.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 16,331 shares of company stock valued at $1,817,720 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $120.00 price target on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Mizuho set a $107.00 target price on shares of Aflac in a research note on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Aflac in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Aflac from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.73.

Aflac Stock Performance

Aflac stock opened at $112.75 on Friday. Aflac Incorporated has a 1-year low of $96.95 and a 1-year high of $119.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $111.52 and its 200 day moving average is $109.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (NYSE:AFL) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 14.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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.